Diane Wasilisian, The Social Expert

The Social Expert, launched in 2010 in Windham, N.H., helps organizations expand, define and leverage their online footprint for increased profit and optimal return on relationships.

‘Ah ha’ moment that led to launching the business: I have been in the web industry for over 11 years and when a client asked me to help them figure out a way they could leverage that environment — but in a different way — I realized that an online community made the most sense. That was four years ago. During the build-out process, I learned about user profiles and how people interacted online, mostly for personal use. But in the next four years that grew into a business market rather than just personal, keeping-in-touch-with-old-classmates. After meeting in Dallas with 20 other women and Tory Johnson, I decided to start another division of my company that focused on social media.

Ideal customer: Small business and health care. Health care is going to be the hardest nut to crack but where I see the most value, whether it is pharmaceutical, hospitals and physicians. I currently interview some of the most well know physicians, authors and health care advocates on my blog talk radio show where we discuss the use of social media in health care.

First customer: Through the use of LinkedIn, where I was answering questions in a group. They contacted me after they saw how I was responding.

Measuring success: By not only receiving payment for what I do but knowing that the client is happy with the work and gives me a referral.

Biggest struggle: Dealing with industry shifts in the wake of the recession. I decided during that down turn to reinvent myself leveraging what I have done on the internet and web in creating strategies for clients in social media.

Surprise!: No matter how prepared you are there are always things that you don’t know; finding alliances and partners to work with are key.

Promoting sales: I have leveraged all social media platforms that I feel help me reach my audience and grow the awareness. I host a weekly radio show with well-known industry guests. In leveraging these platforms, I am contacted on a regular basis by people who want to discuss how we can help them.

What keeps you up at night (business wise!)?: What will be the newest, better way to do things tomorrow and how can we leverage it to help clients grow? Technology is changing in lightening speed and you have to keep up to be sure you are offering the best for your clients.

Ever tempted to throw in the towel and just get a job?: Yes, but what keeps me going is an email or phone call or post online from someone asking about social media or needing help. It gets hard sometimes but then I think of the alternative: I am not a good employee.

Pricing: I do a lot of research before pricing anything to see what the market is doing and what the opportunities are then I try to package it so that the client feels like they are getting a deal. My online giveaways online are great ways for my prospective client to learn what I know and how I can help them. So by doing that it starts the process early and builds the trust factor into the equation.

A few good tips:
• You have to walk the talk not just talk the talk.
• Be willing to give away a lot of information in order to gain an audience and trust with that audience.
• If you are going to get involved with social media, make sure you are integrating your efforts with anything you are doing online and offline.
• When pricing your services, be sure to walk the client through all aspects of getting involved with social media from a strategy, to implementation of that strategy, to developing goals, to creating measurement around those goals to types of content to finally maintaining social media for the long term.
• Stay on top of the industry; it is ever-changing.

The absolute best part of owning my business is: the joy I get when we help a client grow their business awareness and audience and when they see the results from our efforts.

If I had to start over again, I would: done this sooner.

I never imagined: saying “no” to a prospective client would be so difficult.

If standing on a rooftop facing crowds of aspiring or struggling small business owners, I would shout: “If not now, when? You are the owner of your destiny!”