Questions and remember to be genuine in what you share. Begin by writing down messages you want to share. Pick a time to share them. You may want to engage an assistant for posting these. However, the true value comes from the authenticity of the mes- sages that have your voice. Only you are you, so let your voice be heard through the content you share. The world needs and wants to hear what you have to say!

6. Learn and adapt. With practice and dipping your toe into the social media waters, you’ll begin to be part of the conversation. Let this online community learn about you and what you do best. Listen and adapt as you learn more about what works for you and your audience. You have already done the first step of “Reaching people the way they want to be reached.”

7. Have fun. People want to connect with people who are genuine and let their personalities shine through. A few things to keep in mind: Keep your content clean and avoid touchy subjects while keeping

the focus on common topics of interest to your online community. Let your audience find you being genuine and fun and helpful. I hope this quick overview has been helpful and you begin or continue your journey using social media. To view the full ARA Convention presentation, visit http://bit.ly/JoyceSullivanARAexpo2015.

Joyce Sullivan is the Founder and CEO of SocMediaFin, Inc., a social media consultancy that provides social media strategy and leadership training for specialty firms, unique businesses, not for profit organizations and reg- ulated industries. Joyce is an Adjunct Professor of Social Media and Com- munications at City University of New York, Baruch College in the School of Public Affairs. She is an early adopter of emerging technologies and ac- tively participates in New York City's "Silicon Alley" start-up and digital communities. She speaks at numerous industry conferences about the emerging world of social media, crowd-sourcing, career reinvention and creative disruption.

Learn more about Joyce by following and connecting with her on her social media and website sites – Website: www.socmediafin.com/; Twitter: twitter.com/joycemsullivan; LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joycemsullivan; Instagram: www.instagram.com/joycemsullivan/.

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