Corey Perlman – the social media expert in the interview with Premium Speakers
Corey, your lovely bride Jessica and you have two beautiful children. Are they as much into social mediaas you are?
(Laughs) Well, what can I say? Talia and Milo are still very young, but for sure my five year old is already way too familiar with their Phone and has already asked me for her own YouTube channel! Oh yes, I know what you mean!
How did your personal social media story start?
I’ve been speaking on social media for 10+ years. I started speaking to car dealers about the internet and they helped me understand that if it doesn’t add value or generate business, than it’s just a hobby. The momentum became so great that I was asked to put the content in a book. eBoot Camp was born. The book became an amazon.com bestseller in all major business categories and it helped launch my speaking and consulting career. We received so many requests to actually do the work for companies, that I created an agency (eBoot Camp, Inc) to manage the digital marketing for other businesses. We now work with over 50 clients on their digital marketing.
What is the fascination of social media?
I truly believe that Social media can offer many benefits if done successfully. Besides generating leads, it can also help strengthen your credibility with prospects. If someone is checking you out online, are they impressed with what they see? If not, you may need to address your website and other social media sites. Social media can also keep you in front of prospects when they are in research mode. Someone may have heard of your company in January, but may not be ready to do business with you until October. If you’re connected with them via LinkedIn, Facebook or something else, you can stay in touch with them over those months.
From your point of view, what are the key trends in social media?
With so many sites to choose from, it’s critical to know where your customers and prospects are spending time online and then focus on those sites. For examples, if millennial are not your target market, Instagram is probably a lower priority for your business. I think video is critical. Nothing brings your business to life more than video. Some ways to generate great video is to get video testimonials from happy customers. Let them sell the value of your business. No one sells our business better than our champion customers. My two favorite sites are Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook because it’s the largest in the world and people spend so much time on this site. I encourage people to connect with their important clients on Facebook so they can strengthen their relationship with them. It doesn’t substitute for face to face, but it can absolutely help deepen the relationship. LinkedIn is the business networking site and a great place to connect with CEOs and decision makers. I always use LinkedIn to help gain introductions into other people that I can work with. It’s my favorite social media platform for business.
Which are the biggest challenges in social media?
Time. It’s critical not to get overwhelmed with social media because then you get frustrated and stop doing it. I’d rather you not be on a social media site than to start and then stop. Then, someone visits your profile that has very few connections and hasn’t been updated in months. Makes you look bad. Germany and Europe are very much following the trends in the US.
How can you support European companies in implementing these trends as fast as possible?
Start with a few and ignore the rest. If LinkedIn is the place for you, spend the majority of your time there. Be the best on a few instead of being mediocre on all of them. Build a following on that platform and consistently share high value content. Make people want to read your content by answering questions and challenges that will help grow their business. What are your social media recommendations for companies with small budgets? Figure out what you need to do internally and what you can delegate. For example, some of the content that goes on your business pages can be delegated to employees or an outside firm. However, your personal LinkedIn or Twitter profile should be updated by YOU! Thank you so much for this great chat, Corey!
Get Corey Perlman on your stage and learn how to be even more successful with social media.
Just contact us at: corey.perlman@premium-speakers.com