Showing posts with label Getting started with Social Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Getting started with Social Media. Show all posts

Focus on the good ... not the bad


This blog was originally written about Business, Sales, Leadership, Social Media  optioneerJM since May 2010.  As I was critiquing myself, I recognized that I strayed from its main purposes with reflections on matters that are unbusiness-related. 

 I have since branched out to Meanderings because there are many issues I want to write about that don't fall under business.  I hope you will visit, follow, share and help me there.  It is your support that inspires me to write.  If you have an idea or question you would like me to write about on optioneerJM or Meanderings, drop me a line and let me know optioneerJM@gmail.com.

The sharers, viewers and doers of social media

"If the internet is the information highway, social media puts you behind a Ferrari."                                                                   ~Jeannette Marshall




Everyone and just about every company is dabbling in social media these days.  It just occurred to me:  where you hang out and what you do with each platform can predict the results one can expect.  It is social media basics 101:


The Doers - Facebook

I have only about 500 followers on optioneerJM Facebook.  They are the most active social media personalities there are.  Some are professionals - they earn their income from participating in Social Media.  Often, they too, like me, have a smaller circle of friends and followers on Facebook than they may on Twitter or elsewhere.  However, what stands out is they are doers.  They actively read what you post because they have considered whether or not to have you counted among their more intimate group.  I'm not talking about a Facebook Page, I'm talking about those who perhaps may be more selective, yet still count you among a group of  "Friends".  

Chances are,, they will read what you post, acknowledge it with a like, go farther and share it or even better, share/repost.  I know of at least one top social media personality, executive, writer for distinguished publications, who tests his theories by asking his "friends" questions and certainly uses it to reinforce his own beliefs.  

Who you have on your circle of friends on Facebook are more than likely those that they feel a personal connection with, share ideals with, and/or count them as those they value the opinions of.


The Doers - Linked In

Be there are be square.  Linked In is the site that brings credibility and reinforces what you do.  It is more likely to be restricted to who one follows or allows to be followed simply because its likelihood to be connected to someone personally.  It has great potential when you accumulate recommendations from colleagues, clients or peers.


The Doers - Bloggers

There are many bloggers out there, as there are topics.  Some are actively giving away advice, their opinion, or knowledge for free.  Some may have a catch:  hire them, buy something, or comment on something.  It can be a cliche of sorts.  I find it interesting how often the active Doers are often referred to "the best" of something.  I'm skeptical on these lists, other than the major media forces like INC., Forbes or Entrepreneur.  Why? Simply said, the best of anything is those the author knows by a connection that is more than fleeting.  It is a circle of folks who scratch each other's egos and flaunt each other's influence.  There are a select few, who are chosen to write for said major media forces, more than likely because their views, advice or knowledge is considered worthy.


The Sharers - Twitter


On the flip side, I have going on 9000 Twitter followers.  The chances are great that a good percentage interact on a regular basis.  If your opinion is valued or they find that your posts/shares are along their own beliefs or interests, they will acknowledge by sharing that content.  There are many that may retweet (#RT) your content on Twitter, or even better, recommend you to their own group of followers, typically on Fridays, with the hashtag #FF (FollowFriday).

Always, always, and I say ALWAYS try to acknowledge, thank those that share, #RT, #FF you.  Don't be lazy or complacent.  These are your cheerleaders and boost you on your way up in the Twittersvere and likely barely glance on your way down, noting you for arrogance or even less acknowledging you exist.


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The PC has improved the world in just about every area you can think of.  Amazing developments in communications, collaborations and efficiciencies.  New kinds of entertain-ment and social media.  Access to information and the ability to give a voice to people who would never have been heard.

~Bill Gates

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The Sharers - Pinterest

If you happen to stray on to Pinterest and start to post, a funny thing happens.  As you accumulate an audience, it has the likelihood of being rePINned simply because that is the culture of the machanism.  The more useful, the more likely it will be considered to be added to others on boards.  Pinterest is an engine that keeps on giving.  Your PINs can keep snowballing even if you aren't as active as other outlets.



The Viewers - Google Plus

According to my analytic resources, the least acknowledgements, shares come from Google Plus.  Granted, many of my influencers and followers are on G+, few do much their other than view your post if it happens to scroll into their sphere.    G+ is for the visual, creative minded.  Out of all the social media sites, it allows the visuals to be front and center to any post.  You shouldn't post there if you aren't going to take care and attention to have visuals to go with your message.  

Granted, many view on Google Plus, there are great groups and interest arenas, but to get real participation you may have to work harder there to reap any reward compared to say Facebook or Twitter or even Pinterest.  I wouldn't count it out entirely, however, because it has the big engine Google behind it and it just may help your search engine results if you are there.


The Viewers - You Tube

We've all heard of campaigns going viral, more often than not, because they are on You Tube.  Think "Justin Beiber" who would have remained a Canadian boy with dreams of stardom, and not the megastar he is today because of You Tube.






There are definitely other social media  platforms that are being used that I haven't included here:


  • Tumbler
  • InstaGRAM
  • Vine
  • SnapCHAT
  • WhatsUP

Any of these can be included in your social media portfolio with convincing statistics to support them to be an important part of your campaign and to create relationships with viewers.  Why I didn't include them on their own, is simply because they cannot be relied upon as a sole social media outlet.



Combine your social media campaigns with a number of platform.  It will build consistency and relationships with your followers along with name recognition.






What you post is associated with your story or brand.  What interests you? What do you resonate with? What information do you feel inclined to share?  Eventually, you can be identified as a subject matter expert in that area.  The most successful are the ones who tell stories.  I discourage appointing just anyone to be your storyteller because social media is your personal, corporate or brand's outlet to tell your stories or allow others to get to know you better.  

Unfortunately, far too many spend the time, effort and resources to building their web site than they do to their social media.  Ensure you have someone that is not just a marketer, but someone who is enthusiastic about what you have to offer.  Typically, if you're a solopreneur, it will be you.  However, companies or brands leave it to someone who doesn't know how to acknowledge or interact with people.  Make it your mandate that whomever has this responsibility will use manners, acknowledge tweets, likes, shares, follows with a personalized touch.  Don't just react to negative publicity because you will create your own monster.


Whatever you do do, keep in mind that not only being there is important.  Interacting and engaging is what it's all about.  Get involved and don't just treat it as a necessary evil.

"From the streets of Cairo and the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall Street, from the busy political calendar to the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan, social media was not only share the news but driving it.

~Dan Rather

Feel free to follow me under my pseudonym @optioneerJM 








Social media matters starting with Twitter


Every day there are powerful examples of how quickly news fans out on social media far surpassing our traditional media:  radio, television and especially print.

A very kind gentleman named Ajay reached out to me on Twitter to ask me:  "How would one draw tweets to escalate influence?"

Like most twitter nerds ... I happily tweeted back a number of spontaneous responses, with customary #hashtag accompaniments. These were my responses:




  1. Great question Ajay! Draw tweets by articles that resonate with U, quotes, beautiful images ... likeminded will be attracted

  2. Plus using on specific topics you like may inspire those who gravitate towards same interests

  3. Be courteous, consistent, respectful ~specifically thanking those who follow or is a powerful law of attraction

  4. share your ~Udon't know how important what U know is until you start to share with others=positive reaction


There was where I did discover my own faux pas that I should know better:  not checking his bio first! I clicked on his profile on Twitter.  For folly's sake, this gentleman has over 11,000 followers to my mere 8661 (as of  today, January 22, 2015)!  And I'm giving him advice? Jeepers ....  

Ajay, has another rule I recommend:  an interesting bio that says who he is, succinctly while giving a glimpse of his interests:

Recently diagnosed with Parkinson's. Twitteraholic, I am on TWITTER to help, assist and educate the Tweeting population. Follows back all. Progressive Democrat

Once you start getting into the grove and accumulating followers, you may start to see notifications such as the following:
These are so nice to get.  The tweeter is recommending you among others.  Etiquette requires that you should retweet #RT thank the Tweeter (i.e. P.H.Solomon) and then you can decide if you want to follow the others (by reading their bios).  Some may have already followed you and beat you to the punch.  

P.H. had a #WW hashtag included, so I went and clicked on the #WW to see what it meant.  I was able to decipher from all the tweets assembled that it is all about writers.  By scrolling through the content in there, I was able to find some great nuggets on articles I found myself wanting to read.  A best way to acknowledge that you have read the tweet and compliment the person who curated that content - is by replying to the person - and most importantly retweeted (remember #RT) when you are suggesting others may want to read and #RT.

Another way this tweet became memorable, is the unique, cool image he included in his tweet.  Like all else, when you include an image, it will visually stimulate and draw viewers to click, #RT or click on the star.  The statistics show that the following was #RTd 20 times. 
.



 Retweeted 19 times

Another stat provided is who clicked on the STAR which means favorites with images of the people who did so.  What another fantastic way to find like minded people.by who did like it.  Certainly, they may have done so because of the intriguing image, or because the content was valuable to them, or they may have wanted to keep as a reference later on.  I may favorite because I'm just buzzing through for a few minutes and I want to be able to go back and read more (i.e. bio, see other tweets, how many followers, or a multitude of other reasons).   Packing it under favorites can also be customized to where I want to keep tabs on certain topics, people, or whatever way I identify with.

There are a couple of rules of manners that need to be addressed.  If someone follows you, you don't have to automatically follow everyone that follows you, however, if you don't follow back, expect that you may be dropped down the road.  If you have been graced by the fact that they like what you share, they may follow you regardless.  Note, with bigger brands or personalities, the ratio of followers to who they follow may be tipped by a huge scale.  Some may get an ego boost by their numbers (anyone remember Piers Morgan @piersmorgan on CNN always referencing his followers on Twitter, or vocally comparing his following to his guests?)

By looking at someone like a Piers Morgan, who would be considered an influencer strictly based on his follower to follow ratio, you can learn from his bio (you already know who he is). Piers follows a principle of having his own witty quote:   


'One day you're the cock of the walk, the next a 
feather duster.'
~Piers Morgan

You can easily grasp that Piers is for anti-guns or more about gun regulations  based on his tweets.  You can also see his sources for tweets based on checking out who he retweets #RT 


Justice, gun-toting U.S. cop style > RT : Video shows Washington police fatally shooting man as he runs away


I went to check out Gawker ( +Andre Joseph on Google Plus) you can see that they are a media organization.  You can follow sources like them or traditional media outlets like the New York Times to source interesting articles that you can share to increase the likelihood that it will be retweeted #RT and/or attract followers that share similar interests.  

 You can also tell that Piers has a pretty large ego because he tweets about himself a fair bit:



Very proud just declared me one of London's finest exports to America - he forgets they don't get sarcasm out here....

If you are just hopping on for a few minutes to check if you have any new followers (remember to personally thank them for the follow), any #RT (retweets, that you should also thank personally) or simply to catch the news.  You've heard of news going viral.  How they go viral on Twitter is the key words are preceded with a hashtag #.  Well, one way to see what is catching everyone's attention, is by taking a look at the TRENDING box (this is today's February 12, 2015):


Trends

 · 

If you have a website, you should have Twitter -- it can drive traffic to your site and value proposition.  Likewise, if you have Twitter, you should have that identified on your website so that your customers, readers, following can follow you on Twitter:




Certainly, birds of a feather flock together, and you can #RT their articles or tweets as well ... reciprocating others loyalty is the rules of the social media jungle.  Unless, you're One Direction, with millions of adoring fans tweeting at them, that is impossible.  If you have someone handing your corporate Twitter account, ensure that your social media representative is  acknowledging, thanking and even #RTing those who #RT your content.  Don't fall short on engaging with your audience in a unique manner.  They could be customers giving you valuable feedback that should be acted upon.  A non response to a negative tweet could escalate very quickly if you are not paying attention.

 I've shared a few tips about Twitter today.  Hopefully, it will help you get into the groove and demystify some of the cool advantages social media brings, specifically Twitter.  At the very least, it can help you get started.

OPTIONEERjm NOTE:  All persons/parties referenced in this article were Tweeted at to let them know that I had included them in my Blog.  As a courtesy, I let them know and also that I would remove it if they ask me to.  No response will indicate it is ok, and permission granted.