#Digiblogchat August 9, 2022 Senior Use of Technology with @WarrenLNaida

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/meridy-569209/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=523086">Meridy Scott</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=523086">Pixabay</a>

#Digiblogchat August 9, 2022 Senior Use of Technology with @WarrenLNaida | Image by Meridy Scott from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, August 9, 2022 is The Senior Use of Technology with @WarrenLNaida! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

By the way, Jim Katzaman wrote an excellent recap of our chat. Find it at Seniors Find Tech More to Their Liking in Today’s World.

The questions:

Q1. How old is a senior? What does “senior” mean to you?  

Q2. What kinds of issues do seniors have with technology?

Q3. What could and do seniors use the internet for?

Q4. How does ageism manifest itself in your experience?

Q5. How do seniors use technology in their work lives?

Q6. Name one struggle seniors might have with tech?

Q7. What are some benefits seniors could gain from using technology?

Q8. Could technology help seniors gain more freedom? How?

Q9. What are some ways seniors could have more social interactions using technology?

Q10. Would seniors be more safe and secure if they used technology more? How?

Just a Few Words about the Absolutely Dreaded Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud. If you’ve ever felt like a fraud before, you’re certainly not alone. Many of us feel like fraudsters, despite multiple degrees, years of job experience, and badges saying we’re number one! Not literally, but you get my drift. If this is you, you might like this post. By the way, we talked about Imposter Syndrome this week on #Digiblogchat–a collaborative chat on Twitter. We talked with Teodora Pirciu, and you can find her on Medium. Wikipedia has a few more words to say about this syndrome.

Just a Few Words about the Absolutely Dreaded Imposter Syndrome| Image by Sumanley xulx from Pixabay

What measures can correct it?

Reassurances from friends, coworkers, and peers can help. Meeting with others who also suffer from it can help, according to Wikipedia. Group therapy is another way to manage the syndrome. And for some homework where one is asked to reframe negative thoughts in a positive light. Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome? How did you manage it (if you did)? Let me know–I’d love to hear your thoughts!

#Digiblogchat August 2, 2022 Imposter Syndrome with @EmaPirciu

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/sasint-3639875/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1807557">Sasin Tipchai</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1807557">Pixabay</a>

#Digiblogchat August 2, 2022 Imposter Syndrome with @EmaPirciu | Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, August 2, 2022 is Imposter Syndrome with @EmaPirciu! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

The questions:

  1. Show us a GIF that expresses your feelings when Imposter Syndrome hits 
  2. Is Imposter Syndrome even real? 
  3. What does Imposter Syndrome feel like? 
  4. When does Imposter Syndrome happen?
  5. How does Imposter Syndrome impact your work? 
  6. Can Imposter Syndrome influence your personal relationships? 
  7. When is Imposter Syndrome a good thing?
  8. What’s the difference between Imposter Syndrome and perfectionism?
  9. Do you know any exercises that help counter Imposter Syndrome? 
  10.  Do leaders experience Imposter Syndrome? 

How Has Social Listening Changed over Time?

Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase social listening and wondered what it meant. Or you’ve already been listening and want to know what has changed lately. Either way, stay tuned as I discuss this topic.

First of all, what is social listening?

Sprout Social has a terrific article not only defining social listening, but listing tools and telling why social listening is important and why you should pay attention to your audience online (before speaking). So here’s their quote “Social listening refers to analyzing the conversations and trends happening not just around your brand, but around your industry as a whole, and using those insights to make better marketing decisions.” Like your parents said, listen before you speak. This helps you understand the context of any conversations happening online. Monitoring conversations and sentiment can help you decide what strategy your brand should take.

Examples of social listening

Social listening means tracking your brand or topic on social media and then making adjustments or changes in direction based on what you hear. So for instance, you might have a Google alert for your business name. You might see or hear someone say something negative about your business and then you can change course to correct that negative comment. Or you could address the person making a negative comment directly, as some businesses do on Google or Yelp reviews. You might like Hubspot’s article on social listening: What is Social Listening and Why is it Important? For one thing, as explained in Hubspot’s article “customers like it when brands respond.” Recently, when I gave a negative review to a restaurant, the restaurant manager invited me back to see whether they could change my mind. Would I be more apt to return to a restaurant that responded to a review? You betcha!

Tools for social listening

Of course Google, Yelp, and all sorts of social media platforms would be good tools for social listening. Having a Google alert for your business, including misspellings of your name, would also help. You could make yourself a reminder to check for negative or positive reviews. One good trick is to set up a column in your social media monitoring tool for mentions of your name. People don’t always complain directly to your business. So checking into NextDoor or local pages on Facebook can be good monitoring tools, too. If you have a brick-and-mortar business, be sure to claim your Google and Yelp accounts so you can respond. Here’s an article that could help: Five Quick Ways to Boost Your Social Media Listening.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/kaboompics-1013994/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=791686">Karolina Grabowska</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=791686">Pixabay</a>

How Has Social Listening Changed over Time? | Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay

What’s changed?

In the before time, people might have talked to each other more directly. But with more social media channels, people can write, text, send videos, tweet, and post about your business. So you need to be even more vigilant about checking. Asking friends and neighbors about where people are talking could be a good strategy. Being able to respond is important. By social listening, you will be more able to identify your customer’s pain points. And if you want to learn more about pain points, you might like How to Find Your Audience’s Pain Points and Why You’d Want to.

#Digiblogchat July 26, 2022 Data Vizualization and Storytelling with @LazBlazter

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/tumisu-148124/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4203628">Tumisu, please consider ☕ Thank you! 🤗</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4203628">Pixabay</a>

#Digiblogchat July 26, 2022 Data Vizualization and Storytelling with @LazBlazter| Image by Tumisu, please consider ☕ Thank you! 🤗 from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, July 26, 2022 is Data Vizualization and Storytelling with @LazBlazter! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Q1. What does data vizualization mean for you and the stakeholders to your organization? 

Q2: What types of data are you processing and why does vizualization matter? 

Q3: How do you go about relating what your data sets mean to stakeholders? 

Q4: When is the best time to send / publish vizualization data and does it need a word based story to give it context? 

Q5: From a stakeholder perspective, on a scale of 1-10, how much can you trust the data integrity of a vizualization without accompanying storytelling? 

Q6: Can you share any insights to good experiences where data is used to relate a story? 

Q7: Cite your best tips in providing that “WOW” experience to your customers. 

Q8: What applications can you recommend in support of creating quality vizualizations and then adding a storyboard to assure context is clear? 

Q9. Can you relate any instances of data vizualization being used to change the story in an activity or established process?  

Q10. Challenge time: Can you share a data vizualization of your own in respect of today’s chat or undertake to be a future guest host? 

What Does a Community Manager Do?

A community manager needs to wear a few different hats. Some of these hats include writing posts, creating headlines, and being engaged with a community. There are some other traits that a good community manager might have as well, such as being super-duper friendly (depending on the brand, of course), and creating video or graphics.

Is a community manager a good job?

It depends. At least half of what makes it a good job is who you work for. The other half is the audience. Are the brand’s followers engaged and happy? Or are they mostly online to complain? If you’re mostly answering complaints, that’s a bit different, and not nearly as fun as being a brand ambassador. By the way, you might like this post: Made up Holidays Social Media Managers Will Absolutely Love.

What are the qualification of a community manager?

Although there are degrees in social media management and community management, to me the best thing is on-the-job-training. If you’re able to work either for yourself or as a volunteer or intern, then you can pick up a lot of ideas from others. I think a good idea is to get a little real-world experience first and pick up training along the way. That could be formal training, but not always. I’ve always preferred to get training in person, but that’s not always possible, especially in the age of Covid. Corinne McGill says in this Hubspot article Community Managers What They Do and How to Be a Great One writes “Beyond a working understanding of the business, managers need to build productive, professional relationships both internally and externally in order to be a more authentic and reliable brand ambassador.”

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/stocksnap-894430/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2557396">StockSnap</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2557396">Pixabay</a>

What Does a Community Manager Do?| Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Why do you need a community manager?

You need someone to spread the word and help your business to get found online. Maybe you’re too busy with the day-to-day running of your business. Maybe you don’t want to learn another aspect of marketing. Or maybe marketing isn’t something that interests you. In that case, you could definitely use a little help. Even us social media types need help sometimes! And at those times, I call on friends with the same or similar skills to fill in. After all, we all need a little vacation from time to time. Also, if you’re working on your business, sometimes you can become too focused on the day to day issues and the little things.

What are some community management skills?

Reading, writing, and research are some great skills to have. You might not notice all the research happening behind the scenes, but that takes up a great deal of our time. You can’t just post something without at least scanning it. Also, of course, reaching out to followers and to other brands as well. Sometimes other accounts won’t engage with you, but it’s still a good idea to try. After awhile, you’ll see who is willing to engage and who isn’t. Some of the bigger accounts engage all the time, and people love it! For instance, Wendy’s is a great account to follow on Twitter. So fun! If you’re interesting in being more engaged online, you might like: You Don’t Need Fairy Dust to Improve Your Social Media Engagement.

Did I forget something?

What’s your impression of community managers? Let me know your thoughts!

 

#Digiblogchat July 19, 2022 Providing Wow Experience to Your Customers with @VirtuDeskCom

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/ktphotography-5847971/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2527495">ktphotography</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2527495">Pixabay</a>

#Digiblogchat July 19, 2022 Providing Wow Experience to Your Customers with @VirtuDeskCom | Image by ktphotography from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, July 19, 2022 is Providing Wow Experience to Your Customers with special guest @virtudeskcom! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1: What is customer experience?

Q2: What are the elements of a great customer experience?

Q3: What’s the difference between customer experience and customer service?

Q4: Why is it important to ask your customers for feedback?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures the overall customer experience of your brand. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) measures the short-term happiness from your customer’s recent interaction with your brand.

Q5: Which is better for measuring your customers’ happiness, NPS or CSAT? If you are using a different metric, please share them below.

Q6: From a customer’s perspective, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your overall experience with your brand? Would you recommend your brand to your friends, family, and other people?

Q7: How can you improve your NPS or CSAT rate?

Q8: Cite your best tips in providing that “WOW” experience to your customers.

Q9: What are your thoughts on this quote by Eric Ries? “Success is not delivering a feature, it is learning how to solve the customer’s problem.”

Q10: What did you learn today that you are planning to apply to your business?

Is it that Bad to Be Relegated to the Friend Zone?

Is it that Bad to Be Relegated to the Friend Zone?

Is it that Bad to Be Relegated to the Friend Zone?

You’ve all seen those short videos about being relegated to the friend zone. You know–those really sad videos where the person’s face drops like someone just died? But being relegated to the friend zone on social media isn’t really such a bad thing. Actually, being in the zone is an honor and a privilege most of the time. I say most of the time because sometimes your new “friend” is actually a stalker, and not in a good way. However, some would disagree with me. For instance, in this article in Men’s Health, they want to get out of there as fast as possible. But this isn’t that friend zone.

Here are some special privileges that could ensue if you’re in the zone…

In the Friend Zone, you can send and receive DMs or private messages

Even though everyone says NO DMs!!! on their Twitter bios, if you’re in the friend zone, you can definitely send and receive DMs. In fact, many conversations and business deals happen in the DMs. But you have to get to know someone before jumping into their in box.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/broesis-5213623/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2366955">Maike und Björn Bröskamp</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2366955">Pixabay</a>

One Place Where Being Relegated to the Friend Zone is ok| Image by Maike und Björn Bröskamp from Pixabay

Is the Friend Zone permanent?

Yes, unless you do something to really screw up and you’re no longer friends!

Why would you want to accept the Friend Zone?

Many reasons, really. You can meet up in real life. You can get coffee or have a meal together. Maybe if you’re in the same part of the world you can visit. Or you could make plans to meet as a group, as I’ve done several times in real life. But again, you need to know that person a little before you meet up in real life. Being on a chat, like #digiblogchat helps a lot. There are many people on the chat that I’d love to meet in real life. Like Larry Mount, for instance, who’s been the co-pilot for #digiblogchat for years!

You can meet online several times a week

If you’re in the Friend Zone, your friend is just a laptop or phone screen away. They can live in your pocket like a pocket pal. Or you can chat with them during a Twitter chat, or in a private Facebook group. Maybe you’ll travel together across the interwebs, from Facebook to Twitter to TikTok to Instagram. All kinds of things can happen. By the way, if you’d like to join a Twitter chat, here’s how: Five Best Reasons Joining Twitter Chats is a Very Good Idea.

You can attend conferences or zoom calls together

Some of the people I’ve met online I’ve then attended conferences with, and it’s terrific. Of course during the pandemic that didn’t happen–but Zoom calls did happen. Quite often. Maybe sometimes too often. In that case, you could get on a Zoom call and complain about the Friend Zone.

 

 

#Digiblogchat July 12, 2022 SEO Do’s and Don’ts for Bloggers with @joeytrend

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/kanenori-4749850/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=6785763">Kanenori</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=6785763">Pixabay</a>

#Digiblogchat July 12, 2022 SEO Do’s and Don’ts for Bloggers with @joeytrend| Image by Kanenori from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, July 12, 2022 is SEO Do’s and Don’ts for Bloggers with special guest @joeytrend! Check out Joey’s website. Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat.

Here are the questions:

Q1. How does SEO benefit bloggers?

A1: SEO is a way to get ongoing referral traffic from Google, Yahoo, and Bing without paying for ads. More readers, more money.

Q2. What are the major ranking factors to consider when making a new blog?

A2: 1. Having relevant content. 2. Targeting keywords. 3. Page speed. 4. Security. 5. Online chatter. Getting these 5 things right does wonder for getting new web traffic from SEO.

Q3. How do you write SEO optimized content for blogs?

A3: Writing SEO content for blogs is easy when you use tools like @surfer_seo. SEO Surfer creates guidelines on what to write based on your target keywords with the SEO best practices in mind. Stop using Microsoft Word lol!

Q4. What tools do you use to optimize your blog for search engines?

A4: I use a few different tools to optimize blogs including,

@surfer_seo, @mangools_com, @Serpstat, @ahrefs, and @semrush. They all serve a unique purpose when I optimize blogs for search engines. My answers will reveal what I use them for.

Q5. What are some examples of what can hurt your blog’s chances of ranking higher in the search engines?

A5: 1. Thin content. 2. Not secure. 3. Slow page speed. 4. Spammy link profile. 5. Bad reputation online.

Q6. What are some examples of what can help your blog’s chances of ranking higher in search engines?

A6. 1. Valuable content. 2. Is secure. 3. Fast page speed. 4. Quality link profile. 5. Great reputation online.

Q7. How can you track the traffic coming to your blog from search engines?

A7: Using data analytic tools like Google Analytics or @clicky you can track user data and see the demographics of your blog readers. Don’t fly blind. Make sure to look at your data!

Q8. How do you find new keywords to make blog content around?

A8: Using keyword-finding tools like @mangools_com makes it easy to find great low-competition keywords to target. This tool will take a lot of y’all to the next level!

Q9. What are backlinks and how do you check the ones pointing to your blog?

A9.1: Backlinks are website links on other websites referring to your website. Search engines consider backlinks an endorsement from another website on a topic of authority. Quality backlinks build your blog’s authority on a particular subject over time.

A9.2: Using backlink checking tools like @ahref backlink checker you can inspect the backlink profile of your blog. It is simple, easy, and free.

Q10. How can SEO make your blog more valuable over time?

A10: Overtime blog content that has been optimized for search engines will bring in continuous web traffic. Every optimized article and every quality backlink make your blog more valuable to investors. That is if you ever decide to sell your blog one day.

Blogging Basics for the Beginner: How to Get Started

What are the blogging basics? Have you considered blogging but think you might have missed the boat? Want to create a blog but don’t know what to say? Now I am not the person to ask about which website name or provider you might use, but the writing part is definitely in my wheelhouse. What would you say? You might think you have nothing to say, but believe me, you have plenty to say. Here are some issues that might be stopping you, and how to address them.

If you can talk, you can write

My friend Bridget Willard said this to me, and it helped tremendously. You can always use talk to text or some similar speech recognition program (Dragon Naturally is a good one). People like a conversational style anyway. People don’t think they can write, but often they like to talk. If that sounds like you, then just speak and use a program to write your articles.

If you make mistakes

There are a ton of apps and free programs that can help you with your spelling, grammar, or creating an outline. You don’t have to make anything super fancy. For instance, the Grammarly app can help you proof and edit your work. And the Hemingway app can help make your writing more clear and precise. They both have free versions, although you may want to upgrade later if you write a lot.

If you think you don’t have time

Do you have an hour? Then you can write a basic blog post. I’ve written about this previously: How to Write a Perfectly Fine Blog Post in an Hour. And a friend of mine, Randy Clark, writes every day and has written extensively on the subject. I refer to his book How to stay Ahead of Your Business Blog Forever often. You can find it on his website.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/startupstockphotos-690514/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=593341">StartupStockPhotos</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=593341">Pixabay</a>

Blogging Basics for the Beginner: How to Get Started| Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

If you don’t have images

You can always use your own images for your blog post, but there are lots of free pictures you can use out there. I like Pixabay these days for free images. You can also get a subscription from a service like shutterstock. A good way to find graphics is to search on an abstract word like Creativity, for instance. Try searching different ways for images and make sure to give credit to the image’s creator.

If you don’t know about all the details

Create a good headline. Write 350 words, to begin with (more is better). Add an image. Have two outgoing links and two incoming. If it’s your first blog post, don’t worry about it–you can add the links to your own work later. That’s it.

If you have too much fear

Maybe I should’ve put this paragraph first because for many people it’s really about the terror of writing. The important thing is to get started. And realize that you can always delete and/or rewrite any post you create. You really do have more to say than you think. And people do want to hear your voice. Really.

 

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On YoutubeVisit Us On LinkedinCheck Our Feed