I'm A #SproutAllStar

This past Friday, I was elated to check my email and find that I was about to accept a very special invite. I accepted to be a #SproutAllStar. This advocacy and educational group is coordinated by the team at SproutSocial. Before I go into what it means, let me talk about the company, some of their strengths, and then what it means to be an all star for them.

SproutSocial is a social media strategy and analytical platform. The software allows you the user to manage incoming messages, generate leads, divide up tasks among team member, collaborate, schedule messages, and overall analyze your brand's social impact. You have the ability to build a content calendar as well as generate reports

The company also runs a weekly Twitter chat to discuss a wide variety of topics within the structure of social media. The chat (Wednesdays, 3 - 4 p.m. EST) brings together people from a variety of industries. Marketers from established firms, social media managers from businesses and even people who just love talking about social media collide together to share and learn from one another.

So where do I fit into all of this? Well, about 6 months into my position with Western Michigan University, I found SproutSocial and immediately became a client. I loved how easy it was to manage our three largest accounts while generating reports to please anyone in my office. This very sophisticated software does come with a price tag, but for anyone looking to take the work they do seriously, the basic package is worth every dollar.

I also quickly learned about their chats and started participating. From talking about new features to talking about the pillars of marketing as they relate to social media, I was able to not only learn from a lot of different people, but also contribute. I am safely one of only a few routine members of Higher Education involved in these chats. It's because of that the team at SproutSocial is giving me a chance. They are making me a #SproutAllStar.

In essence, I'm an ambassador. It doesn't change the work I currently do, but it certainly adds to it. I get some cool perks, but that's not why I want this. I want to continue to share great information created by the team with my friends in Higher Education. I want to recruit more people to chat. I want to create and share my own musings on a much larger platform. I want us all to get better with social media. I'm so excited they chose me and I can't wait to show you what I got.