Social Media Archives - Page 3 of 12 -

How Much Confidential Info Do You Share On Social Media?

March 16, 2017 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

How Much Confidential Info Do You Share On Social Media?

Recently, I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad thing happen. When you work in the social media realm, people expect certain things. They expect you to share. And yet, although some of my best friends knew about the terrible event, I did not share it widely.

Connection Does Not Always Equal Friendship

Being “friends” on Facebook does not mean that someone is truly friends, despite the saying that a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met. If you are squinting at someone’s image, wondering where you met them (or if you met them at all), maybe it’s time to cut them loose if Facebook is your “safe place.”

Being a Private Person

Are you a private person? Now, I’m not necessarily talking about being an introvert because that’s different. But are you private in your communications online? Would you be ready to share something and then have a relative stranger come up and say “oh, hey, I heard that you fell off the roof while on vacation!” If not, then you might consider not sharing that tidbit, although it’s easy to forget that 100s or 1000s of people could potentially see what you post.

How to Decide What to Share

Here are a few questions you could ask yourself before you share something:

Will this hurt me later?
Will this expose a friend?
Will sharing this get back to the person I’m sharing about?
Could this have any negative impacts?

And here are 9 things you should never share on Facebook, from Post Planner.

Where to Share

Certain people have places that are more private than others on social media. For instance, I consider Twitter to be the most filled with strangers of all of my platforms. Yours could be Facebook. Or LinkedIn. At any rate, there’s a hierarchy of places for all of us. I might share something in a closed Facebook group before I share it on Twitter.

Some would say that you could share more safely on Twitter, since it doesn’t ask you to share your own or your friends’ information as much. See Facebook vs Twittter: Privacy Issues.

Photo by ijclark

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Social Sharing

There are many good aspects of sharing. For instance, you could share a picture that you want all your friends to see. It beats emailing it to everyone! And you can create an album on Facebook or a secret board on Pinterest for those images. By the way, here are Ten Ways to Be Social, from the archive.

Photo by ZZ Bottom

The Bad and the Ugly

There are also many, many ways to fail on social media. For instance:

Photo by Dvortygirl

What’s Something You’d Never Share?

I promise not to tell! Leave me a comment. Thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: confidential, Facebook, LinkedIn Pinterest, oversharing, privacy, sharing, Social Media, Twitter

Ten Simple Ways to Choose the Best Social Media Platform

February 23, 2017 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Ten Simple Ways to Choose the Best Social Media Platform

There are so many social networks these days. If you’re new to social media, or you’re a startup and you’ve been busy with other things, how do you choose the best one? Here are some ways you can get through the maze of choices you have.

Pick from the Most Popular Networks

Don’t go with that social network your cousin started as his senior class project. There are only 14 users, and besides, there are still a boatload of bugs! Choose from the most popular ones:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
YouTube
Pinterest

Where’s the Competition?

Check with other brands like yours. If you sell makeup, you probably want to be on Instagram and Pinterest because they are good for visual brands. Additionally, Pinterest’s audience is largely female. If you sell real estate, Facebook and Twitter might be better choices for you. Again, see what your competition is doing.

Is Your Demographic There?

Please don’t say your product or service is “for everyone.” The narrower your audience, the easier it is to choose a social media platform. If you don’t know, Pew has a terrific explanation of the Demographics of Social Media Users. For instance, many CEOs are on LinkedIn, but not on Twitter. So if CEOs are part of your demographic, you’d be better off on LinkedIn.

Choose the One You Like Best

You’re more likely to post frequently if you choose the place you like to go. I’m a firm believer that if you really learn to use a platform, you can get tons of traffic there. My brother, who had a plumbing service, had tremendous success with Yelp, for instance. Since it’s locally based, having good reviews on Yelp can be valuable to a local business like a plumber or electrician.

Photo by Bob Dass

Pay Attention to Where the Action is!

Even if you really like the platform, if people post and run, that’s probably not a good option for you. For instance, Google Plus doesn’t seem to attract and hold people’s attention for very long. If you must be on a platform without much action, monitor your efforts and see if it’s worthwhile. Use your analytics to check out what’s working and what’s not. Here are analytics for Twitter, in case you’re wondering.

Realize That Social Media Isn’t Free

Sure, signing up is free. But will you be available to post? How much time can you give it? If you can’t give it the time it deserves, hire someone to do it for you! Ahem. I might know of someone! And should you do your own social media? I don’t think so!

Get a Reality Check

Hire a social media manager for an hour or two to brainstorm your proposed choice. That might be the boost you need to get started. And you’ll feel that you’re on the right track if you do. Otherwise, have someone take it over for you, after you’ve worked out a strategy together. By the way, here are ten worst ways to hire a social media manager!

Photo by Moyan_Brenn

Check That Your Name is Available

You want a similar name across platforms. You may need to change the name you use slightly across platforms, but make sure that you use a recognizable logo on each.

Set up Social Accounts

Even if you don’t use an account, grab the name so you can use it later. I call that squatting. Later, when you’re ready to start using it, it’ll already be there for you. If you don’t grab the account, someone else might nab it!

Photo by markbwavy

Be Successful with One First

You don’t have to start all your social media platforms at the same time! Get one ball in the air before you start juggling with three. And you might not need or want a second ball, depending upon your success! Startups in particular can do a staggered start.

How Did You Choose to Get Started?

Leave me a comment and let me know! Thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Social Media, Startup

The Best Way to Quick Success? Follow the Fun!

February 16, 2017 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

The Best Way to Quick Success? Follow the Fun!

We’ve all had the experience of being at an amusement park, wondering which ride to try next. The carousel? No–that’s for little kids. The Zipper? No, that one always smells funky (and when you see it, you know why!). Ah, but there’s always one ride where people are screaming and laughing their heads off! That’s the one you want!

Photo by Ed Bierman

The Roller Coaster

My favorite ride always seems to be the roller coaster. Even though it’s also the scariest ride and is over fast, it is, hands down, the most fun. The Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz Boardwalk is a wooden one, and the creakiness of the ride makes it scarier, for some reason. You feel like you could be thrown off at any moment and attacked by seagulls.

Photo by mrs. scrapygraphics

Post with Fun in Mind

My brother always went for the fun in life. He ran after it, and created fun wherever he went. That’s how you should think about posting on social media, too. Make it fun for everyone. People will want to stay, talk, and share if you make it fun.

Photo by Ed Bierman

Hashtags Make it Fun

One reason, in my humble opinion, that Instagram has become so popular is not only because it’s simple, but because it’s fun. Part of that fun is the way that people use hashtags. By the way, if you haven’t read about how to engage on Instagram, you might want to check it out. You can use hashtags in other places such as Twitter, too, but the over-the-top way people use them on Instagram? Priceless!

Photo by Photographing Travis

Memes and .Gifs

Yes, as a business you’re not “supposed to” use memes and gifs. But if they get people talking, why not? If you’re on Twitter, you can easily attach a .gif and send it to a bunch of friends. Again, it’s simply and silly. These days, silly has become an endangered species on social media.

Post with no Outcome

Sometimes it’s ok to post without expecting anything. You might want to share a favorite Netflix show, for instance. By the way, have you seen the Netflix original series Abstract: The Art of Design? Really fantastic! But I digress. Sure, you’re always supposed to have a Call to Action (“CTA”), but maybe your goal is just to connect with people.

Photo by dalecruse

What Tricks Do You Have for Making Your Posts More Fun?

Let me know in the comments! And thank you.

Photo by Photographing Travis

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: fun, Social Media, success

Social Media with No Safety Net: Being Unafraid to Fail

January 26, 2017 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Social Media with No Safety Net: Being Unafraid to Fail

Old Familiar Ways

So many people use the all-familiar pattern of headline, link, and hashtag on their social media posts. But what about the age-old art of conversation? Wouldn’t it be more fun to just talk to people for a change? The good news is that you can! The bad news is that it will take more work.

Being Unafraid to Engage

In case you don’t know how to get started, you could always read my post with multiple parts on How to Engage on Social Media: the Complete Guide. There are sections for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

The Lost Art of Hello!

The important thing is to get out there and say hello! As in something along the lines of:

“Hello, I like your profile picture!”
“Hello, what’s the weather like where you are?”
“Hello, how are you today?”

If the person doesn’t answer back, maybe they’re not used to people engaging, or maybe (shudder) they’re a robot.

Photo by gabia party

Failure to Try

There are so many quotes on failure, but here is one of my favorites:

“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.” – J.K. Rowling

If that doesn’t ring your chimes, here are 30 Powerful Quotes on Failure–you’re sure to find one you like.

But I digress.

Photo by Ryan Harvey

Begin Chatting

There are several ways to begin talking. Set yourself a modest goal. Say hello to 3 people a day. You might notice others having conversations–you could always step into a conversation that others are having. “Excuse me, but I couldn’t help overhearing…” you might begin. Would that be difficult? No, I didn’t think so!

Photo by The U.S. Army

Get an Introduction

If there’s someone you’d really like to get to know, you could use the old-fashioned idea of an introduction. This works very well on LinkedIn, as outlined in 4 Great Ways to Break the Ice on Social Media.

Photo by quinn.anya

Blog Comments

If you really, really want to get to know someone, read their blog and comment! Quite often they will answer you and reciprocate. Leave me a comment and see what happens! And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Engagement, failure, greetings, Social Media

Surprise! Your Dog Is Actually a Cat. Guaranteed.

January 12, 2017 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

Surprise! Your Dog Is Actually a Cat. Guaranteed.

You know that saying “if it looks like a cat, meows like a cat, and walks like a cat–it’s a cat!” (Something like that!) So, if you’re using your personal social media (your “cat”) like a business page (your “dog”), you’re not going to get the benefits. If you have a personal account (d0g), but you’re using it for your business (cat), then you may think you have a dog, but what you have is a cat.

Can I Convert My Dog?

It depends. On Twitter, it’s easy to change your account by renaming it, putting up a businessy avatar, and getting the analytics. You can even keep the old tweets. On Facebook, you don’t convert–you add a different account, which kind of hangs off your personal account. On Pinterest, you need to add a piece of code to your website, but it’s fairly easy. And on LinkedIn, you can add a LinkedIn business account easily.

You Want the Analytics

You might not think you do, but you do. Because otherwise, without the numbers, how will you know that what you’re doing is working? You won’t! It’ll be all guesswork. So get the analytics, please!

Social Media and Business

Here are some good articles for using social media for your business:

Twitter for Business
How to Set up Facebook for Business
Pinterest for Business (why you want a business account)
LinkedIn for Business

Shoe-in.

Know anyone who’s using their personal account as a business account? Or are you using your personal account as a business account? Why? Leave me a comment! Thank you.

Photo by mikelemmon

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Cats, dogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Social Media, Twitter, using personal account as business

How to Engage on Social Media: LinkedIn

January 5, 2017 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

How to Engage on Social Media: LinkedIn

This is part five of How to Engage on Social Media: The Complete Guide. The other parts are here:

Photo by poolski

Why LinkedIn?

A quarter of online adults use LinkedIn, a proportion that is unchanged from the 28% of online adults who did so in September 2014, according to the Pew Research Center. With over 3 million using company pages, having a solid presence there makes sense. With its focus on business, is it any wonder that LinkedIn has the most mature users, with the highest net worth?

Photo by hyku

LinkedIn Basics

If you need some basics for how to use LinkedIn, you might want to read:

Photo by Castles, Capes & Clones

Business to Business

For B2B companies, LinkedIn is a giant. Take a look at this infographic from Social Media Today on Why LinkedIn Matters. If you want a more active presence on LinkedIn, it’s a great article. I particularly like the part about what platforms LinkedIn users don’t use. 83% don’t use Pinterest. So if you’re doing B2B, you want to be on LinkedIn, and probably not so much on Pinterest. After all, 94% of B2B marketers distribute content on LinkedIn, with many of them making purchasing decisions on LinkedIn.

Photo by Lucy Maude Ellis

Not Just for Job Seekers

LinkedIn has had to overcome its reputation as merely a place for job seekers, and those looking for gigs. To do that, it has begun to offer users the ability to publish. Bloggers who share on LinkedIn receive over four times as many leads to their home page than publishing on Facebook or Twitter! If you use stats to make decisions, that should be pretty convincing.

The Sleeping Giant

LinkedIn is like the shy guest at the party whom you later discover is the CEO of a major corporation. She may not want to talk to anyone, so if you decide to engage with her, you’ll be doing both of you a great favor.

How to Engage

There are many ways to engage on LinkedIn. Here are four:

Give recommendations. Be generous and reach out to people first! Don’t wait to receive and then react. Like other forms of social media, your generosity will be rewarded.
Write testimonials (to those you’ve done business with). Say what you liked about the business.
Comment on others’ posts. Start a discussion on an article or post and see where it leads, like you would on Facebook or Twitter.
Share others’ posts. Once you comment on an article, share it. Don’t forget to tag that person so they’ll realize you’ve shared!
Offer introductions. This is my favorite part of social media. Connecting people you know to others you know. Like you’d do in person, you can say something like “Sharon, do you know Ellie? I think you two have a lot in common!” or words to that effect.

Photo by faulancr

Groups

Groups can be a great way to start a conversation since by being in a group you already have something in common with everyone else in that group. So you might be in U.C. Berkeley’s alumni group, where you can ask people where they’re working now, or what project they’re excited about. Or a group for marketers where you can post or answer questions for those in your area.

Company Pages

Company pages are a way to brand your company, share the pain points of your audience, and offer unique ways to fix your potential clients’ problems. Speak directly to your ideal client when you’re on LinkedIn and offer solutions. Social Media Examiner has an excellent article on ways to improve your company page, by the way. I couldn’t say it any better.

Are You Linked In?

How do you use LinkedIn? Or would you like to start using LinkedIn? Leave me a comment! And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Engagement, LinkedIn, Social Media

How to Engage on Social Media: Pinterest

December 22, 2016 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

How to Engage on Social Media: Pinterest

This blog post is part of my series on how how to How to Engage on Social Media: The Complete Guide. You might want to see the previous two parts:

More parts will be added on a weekly basis.

Pinterest a Rising Star

Pinterest is a rising star, and like certain other social media platforms, underutilized. If your audience includes women, then you need to be on Pinterest! Some 31% of adult Internet users use Pinterest, according to the Pew Research Center.

Photo by State Library of New South Wales collection

Can You Be Social on Pinterest?

The people at Pinterest claim that Pinterest is not a social media platform. In some ways, they’re right. But it is still possible to engage, to share, to comment, and to like posts. There is no live video (yet!), but that could be on its way. I’d definitely agree with Justin Horvath that Pinterest is Social Media’s Best Kept Secret.

Social Discovery

Pinterest is certainly a place for discovery. Say for instance you need a pair of shoes. But that’s all you know. Would you go to Google and search for shoes? No! Instead go to Pinterest, because you’ll automagically get visual search cues to guide you: green shoes, camo sneakers, velvety green heels, and more.

How to Engage?

When you’re tooling around Pinterest, like and comment on people’s pins (I know they’re supposed to be called saves, but pins sounds so much better.) Make sure that you tag the person whose post you’re commenting on! Hover over the person’s name and get their handle. For instance, mine is @YourSoMeWorks. Now, make sure to say something a little out of the ordinary. Put a little thought into it.

Use Direct Messaging Sparingly

If you already know someone, use direct messaging. Or if it’s really important. Otherwise, direct messaging can seem spammy, like a direct message on Twitter when you don’t even know someone. It’s a good way to get unfollowed!

Photo by nokia32

Send Pins and Boards

If you see something that a friend would like, by all means send it their way! Pinterest explains how to send either a pin or a board in a short post. You can engage with people that way as well.

Group Boards

Another way to engage on Pinterest is to either join or have your own group board. Engage with the other pinners on the group board, making sure to tag them when you do.

Are You Engaging on Pinterest?

Why or why not? Leave me a comment and I promise to write you back! And thank you!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Engagement, Pinterest, Social Media

How to Engage on Social Media: Instagram

December 15, 2016 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

How to Engage on Social Media: Instagram

This is part of my series on How to Engage on Social Media: The Complete Guide. Last week’s post was about engagement on Twitter.

Photo by zoonabar

Instagram is Serious Business

Some people think that Instagram is all pretty pictures–which it is–partly. But Instagram is also a serious business, with 28% of adult Internet users on board. People mostly use Instagram on their smart phones, unlike certain other platforms, and with more and more people moving to using smart phones, Instagram can only become more popular.

Photo by ajay_suresh

Why Use Instagram?

Instagram has the highest engagement rate between brands and customers of any platform, according to Forrester.
If someone follows you, they will see your posts, unlike Facebook, which has become “pay to play”
People are becoming more image-centric, and Instagram is the land of images
More people are on their phones and Instagram lives on your phone
People are more engaged on Instagram
Great for local businesses, since you can target using hashtags (see below)
Instagram is simple and fun!

Photo by Elizabeth Yu Xiaoou

Hashtags

There are so many ways to use hashtags on Instagram. I like to bury my hashtags in the first and second comments of a post. There are quite a few ways to use hashtags:

Location-based hashtags. Any city, state, country, highway, or area can be turned into a hashtag. Search the people nearby and see which hashtags they’re using. For instance, #SantaCruzMountains is a favorite of mine for finding people near where I live.
Topic hashtags. Use the topic of your post as a hashtag. If you’re an SEO, expert, for instance, you could do #SEO or #SearchEngineOptimization.
Hashtags that work across industries. For example, #tbt or Throwback Thursday works for any brand.
Self-deprecating hashtags. These are my favorite! Use a hashtag to make a comment about your own post or yourself. #facepalm and #sosnarky, for instance.

Once you use a hashtag, click through and see who else is using it and like or comment on other posts. Be assertive and don’t wait for people to come to you! Go see who else is out there and be friendly. Do a Google search on hashtags in your industry and then experiment.

Photo by Leo Hidalgo (@yompyz)

Tag Others

If your business has a company outing or if you’re with someone else who has an Instagram account, upload a photo and tag that other business or person. This is a great way to get a conversation going. And you can use it in conjunction with another idea, such as Throwback Thursday, to double your interaction! For courtesy’s sake, you might want to ask before posting a picture of someone else.

Interact!

Comment on other posts, and tag the owner, especially if the account has many followers. Often people don’t check their own comments, so tagging ensures that they see your comment. Anything, such as “I love this picture.” “This reminds me of…” “I love that park, too!” can be good conversation starters. Often one word, such as “Beautiful!” works, too.

Photo by Mainstream901

Captivating Captions

At the very least, tell us where a picture was taken. Often, I skip by posts with no captions. Something about a picture with no caption makes me think it’s fake. Do you think so, too? But a wonderful image with a great caption? That can be very powerful. And some of the best Instagrammers use Instagram to tell a story. For instance, @thecuratedfeast uses Instagram to educate. Their posts are packed with information about food history.

Photo by BLMOregon

Regramming

If you really appreciate one of your followers, use their photo, especially if they’re a big fan of your product. One of my favorite accounts is Cutco Cutlery, and they often ask people to use the #shareyourslice hashtag for a chance to be featured. Could you do something like that?

Photo by Cydcor

Contests

Contests are an exciting ways to get your followers engaged. You might ask them to like your own or another account, tag someone who might like that account, for a chance to win a book or a trip! The @Whole30 people are very good at generating engagement this way.

Photo by BLMOregon

Who Do You Find Engaging?

Leave me a message in the comments! I promise to engage with you!

Photo by Trinetty Skytower

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Engagement, hashtag, image-centric, Instagram, Social Media

How to Engage on Social Media: Twitter

December 8, 2016 By Carol Stephen 9 Comments

How to engage on social media: Twitter

There is a bias in the business world against Twitter that I don’t comprehend. To me it is the friendliest and easiest place to engage in of all the platforms. Of course, that’s once you understand a few things about Twitter. The blog post you’re reading right now is part of How to Engage on Social Media: The Complete Guide.

Create Moments

Creating Moments on Twitter

Creating Moments

A relatively new addition to Twitter is called Moments. You can create your own Moments or look at other people’s moments. Anyone can create a moment. From Twitter Home ==>>Go to Moments ==>> Click Create Moments (upper right corner). Upload your own photos or add tweets — I called mine San Francisco Lights. Choose your tweets or photos, choose a cover and title and publish! It took me about 15 minutes.

The Number One Mistake People Make on Twitter

Don’t start your tweet with the “@” sign if you want everyone to see it. Add a “.” in front of the “@” sign so that everyone can see it. Yes, that issue’s been around forever. If you need to know more, head over to Gary Vee’s slideshare (it’s only a minute, trust me!).

Leave Some Space

Don’t use up all 140 characters. Use something like 100-130 if you want retweets. Your real estate is limited.

Add images for more retweets.

Add Images for more Retweets

Images and videos are gaining momentum on Twitter. In fact, you’ll get 313% more engagement if you tweet with images, according to Twitter. So do use images for more engagement.

Audience

According to Pew Research

Some 23% of online adults currently use Twitter, a statistically significant increase compared with the 18% who did so in August 2013. Twitter is particularly popular among those under 50 and the college-educated.

Is that your demographic? If so, then you’re in the right place.

The Language

Twitter is the land of hashtags (not too many–one or two is fine!), and abbreviations. Also, emojis are popular on Twitter. Here are some abbreviations.

@ sign = a user’s name. For instance, I’m @Carol_Stephen on Twitter.

RT = Retweet. Means you’re repeating something and giving credit to that person as well.

OH = Overhead.

MT = Modified tweet. Sometimes you have to remove/change a tweet and this is how you alert people that you’ve changed it.

# = hashtag. Hashtags help you organize your tweets. For instance, #cheese will organize tweets about cheese.

Hashtags

Don’t be afraid to use hashtags, especially if the hashtag can help others see the content of a tweet. A hashtag helps others to identify a tweet. For instance, if you’re tweeting about an article on autism, you could add #asd (autism spectrum disorder) to the tweet. If you’re tweeting about an event, you can add the hashtag event, such as #wcoc (WordCamp Orange County). Some brands have their own hashtags. For instance, the San Francisco Giants use #sfgiants and if you tag your tweet that way, you may be featured or retweeted by the Giants!

Emojis

If you’re on mobile, which most people are now, you have access to many emojis. Hearts and smiley faces can let people know the feeling behind a tweet, in case there’s any doubt–or if you want to add more sentiment.

Formality

Twitter is one of the most easygoing, informal of all platforms. Think of it as a backyard bbq. It’s easy to talk to people, and there’s a laidback feeling to it.

Getting colder Carol @Carol_Stephen but still great. Best wishes to you

— Toyota Equipment (@ToyotaEquipment) December 4, 2016

How to Engage?

Say hello to people. If you’re just getting started, this is the easiest way to begin. Above is one real example. You can start with asking about the weather, telling people to have a nice weekend, and so on. Notice that my tweet begins with the “@” sign. So only those who follow both @ToyotaEquipment and myself will see that tweet. @ToyotaEquipment’s reply to me starts with text, so that tweet is more public. See the difference?

Here are a few other ideas:

Ask a new follower a question about their profile.
Ask someone you’re connected with for advice for a topic they’re an expert at.
Comment on someone else’s tweet and retweet it.
Tell others to follow someone whose account you enjoy.
Introduce two people who have something in common.

Lists

Once you have found a few people who like to engage, you can add them to a list. Here’s a post about using lists on Twitter. For instance, you could create a list called Engagers or Friendly People.

Sharing

How much of your personal life will you share on Twitter? It’s a good idea to decide beforehand. My rules are to avoid sex, politics, and disasters. And when I’ve broken my own rules, I’ve had to pay. For instance, during the divisive election recently, I wrote about politics and lost followers. If you have to talk about something divisive, you may want to set up a separate account for that. As a business, I’d avoid those topics, though.

Tagging

Just because you can tag, doesn’t mean you should tag. If a conversation doesn’t really involve someone else, for the love of all that is holy, please remove them! It’s like being on a long bench of people and everyone between you and the person you’re talking to has to listen. Don’t force everyone to listen. On the other hand, if the people are actively involved in a conversation, then yes, keep adding them!

How Do You Engage on Twitter?

Leave me a comment! And of course send me a tweet!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Conversation, engage, Engagement, Social Media, Twitter, Twitter moments

How to Engage on Social Media: the Complete Guide

December 1, 2016 By Carol Stephen 7 Comments

How to Engage on Social Media: the Complete Guide

Recently, I co-taught a class with Alyson Harrold of the Spectrum Group at University of California, Berkeley Extension. What surprised me was that so many of the students said they didn’t know how to engage. Hence, this series on how to engage online.

What is Engagement?

As the folks from Sprout Social outline, it’s smart to break engagement down into several tangible steps. You could call them baby steps. What you want is a channel where you can talk to potential customers and they can communicate with you. By the way, here’s an article about Tweeting for Engagement: Links Versus Text that’s an easy way to share and engage on Twitter.

Why Should Your Business Care?

Engagement is the gold standard of social media. It’s how you get closer to people making a purchase from you or doing business with you. If your potential clients don’t know, like, and trust you, they won’t want to do business with you.

Audience

Each platform has a different audience. How do you engage them? They’re somewhat different. For instance, LinkedIn is the most formal of the social media platforms. LinkedIn is the land of full sentences, and no hashtags. Twitter, on the other hand, is filled with abbreviations and hashtags. Here’s my Twitter: Top Ten Terms and Power Tips to get you started.

Platforms

Each platform has a different culture, and needs different content. Here are some of the top platforms, which will be updated as I write each piece:

The Language, the Hashtags, and Particulars of Engagement

The language is different on each platform. There’s a continuum of formal to informal in language, which includes whether to use hashtags. There are other things to do and to avoid, as well. For instance, can you reshare your content? What is evergreen and what isn’t? You don’t want to share too little or too much and each platform has its own conventions.

Social Sharing

When is it a good idea? When is it not a good idea? Also, it’s a good idea to know how much you’ll share of your personal life on social media. There are things you may not want to share, such as details of your children’s lives. Religion and politics can be tricky, too. But if your brand is about religion and politics, that’s a different story!

Tagging

Should you always tag people? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. On Instagram, it’s a great idea. You can tag on Facebook and Twitter, too. But should you always tag? No! We all have that one friend who’s always tagging you because they think you collect salt and pepper shakers. After awhile, it can be annoying. Don’t be that guy! Or gal.

Connecting the Dots

Using analytics and common sense to see what’s working and what’s not is your best strategy with social media. Analytics don’t tell the whole story, but they can tell a lot. Sometimes analytics just proves a theory that you have.

What Else?

If there’s something else you’d like to see covered, let me know in the comments! Thank you!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: analytics, audience, engage, Engagement, Language, Social Media, social media platforms, tagging