#DigiBlogChat Questions for May 4, 2021

The topic for #DigiBlogChat on Tuesday, May 4th, is how to create the perfect headshot with Beth of @AdventureGlass! Join us each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time for our fun and educational chat. Here are the questions:

  1. Getting a headshot?  What are your responsibilities vs. the photographer’s responsibilities?
  2. What questions should you ask your photographer before the session?
  3. What clothes work best for headshots?  Colors?  Why?
  4. Indoor vs outdoor – what do you like best and why?
  5. MAKE UP – yes, even men – what are the best practices?
  6. What is the number one thing to remember when getting a head shot?
  7. Do it yourself vs pay for a photographer – what are your thoughts? Why?
  8. You get what you pay for – what should headshots cost from a pro? Why?
  9. Editing – how do you like your editing?  Wrinkle free or leave me alone? Why?
  10. Angles – it really is all in the angle – show us your favorite angles and tell us what angles you avoid and why.

Five Secrets to Social Media Success: Greatness in 15 Minutes a Day

So here’s the deal. Here are five actionable things you can do this week to improve your social media and become more successful. Some of these are things not to do, and those might be even easier for you. Read one each day for five days and you’ll improve. Really.

Day One: Share Every Day

Can you do this? You don’t have to create all your own content, but you need to be on your accounts. As friend Robert Nissenbaum discusses, getting results and engaging on social media are intertwined: If you want results, think about how you post and share content. Engagement and how you share makes a difference. You can schedule, but it’s even better to be live on social media. You might even come into contact with someone else who’s actually there, too.

Day Two: Don’t Tag Everyone in the World

Yes, we’re all connected to quite a few people on our social media accounts. But you don’t have to tag everyone. And if you are tagged, you don’t have to then reply to everyone! It’s quite simple to simply reply to the person who tagged you and to no one else (unless there’s a reason to, but usually there isn’t one). If you reply to everyone, chances are you’ll get muted or–worse–unfollowed. So don’t do that!

Day Three: Engage, Engage, Engage

Engagement is probably the most important thing you can do on social media. Talk to other people. Be social. If you don’t know how, here’s a book you might like (on Amazon): 21 Ways to Total Social Media Engagement That Will Make You Look Like a Pro. Why should you care about engagement, you might ask. Well, the internet is a crowded place and getting more crowded every day. So with engagement, you and your brand can stand out.

Day Four: Create Lists

Yes, those things everyone complains about. Make some of them. They can be private if you are afraid people will judge you for putting you on their lists. Here’s the skinny on why lists are so important: Twitter Lists for the Power User. By the way, I don’t get why people complain about lists. Do you?

Day Five: Create a Professional Bio and Headshot

If you don’t know what your bio should say, ask some friends. For a good headshot, hire a pro. Your bio is the first thing people read about you, and your headshot says a lot in a visual way. Your bio is a snapshot of you and your life at this moment in time. It can be changed! So don’t worry too much if it’s not perfect.

 

 

#DigiBlogChat Questions for April 27, 2021

The topic for #DigiBlogChat on Tuesday, April 27th, is Creativity with @maricarjagger ! Join us each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time for our fun and educational chat!

Q1.  How’s your level of creativity during the pandemic? 

Q2. What have been your creative outlets? 

Q3. What can you do with a writer’s/creative’s block? 

Q4. Is it possible to bring creativity into your business? 

Q5. Why is creativity important to your business? 

Q6. What do you do to get inspiration? 

Q7. How can you demonstrate the value of creativity in your business? 

Q8. What do you do to maintain your creativity? 

Q9. Are you more creative when you’re busy or when you’re relaxed? 

Q10. Do you have a creative muse? 

Q11. Extra credit: Just for fun, use whatever you have around you and spell the word LOVE! 

Had Enough of the Surge in Boundaries Blurring Between Social Media Platforms?

One thing I’ve noticed happening a lot lately on social media platforms is that the boundaries are blurring between the different platforms. Just like with movies, people are copying each other and there is less distinction in the platforms. When will the blurring ever stop? Wired had a good article about this phenomenon: All the Social Media Giants Are Becoming the Same. Have you noticed this, too?

Everything starts to look the same

How can you even tell where you are on the interwebs any more? When one thing looks like the next looks like the next, is there any reason to switch from Insta to Twitter to Facebook? For example, now there are Facebook stories, just like there are Instagram stories. They were on Insta first, then Facebook had to copy them. And before that, they were on Snapchat. And of course now that Clubhouse has really taken off, Facebook is reportedly working on something similar.

Why is this happening?

Is there really so little creativity that everyone has to copy everyone else? Is this because there’s a lack of boundaries in our personal relationships? Does someone need to step in and say no? Or is it simply because Facebook saw Instagram’s saw Snapchat’s success and wanted to keep people on their platform longer? I vote for that one. Everyone wants to be a one-shop stop. So if you can shop, upload photos, and catch up with friends on Facebook, why would you have to go somewhere else? You wouldn’t! By the way, you might like this article about how to unleash your blogging creativity.

The death of creativity?

So in another instance of copying, Instagram reels copied TikTok. And all of the social media platforms now are pushing hashtags as well as more video. There are some rules, but those are changing all the time, too. Videos can be up to sixty seconds long on Insta and TikTok, but up to sixty minutes long on Facebook. Of course, on YouTube, video length is a whole different story. There’s a 15-minute limit, but you can get around it, luckily for us wanting to know how to fix our plumbing or knit sweaters.

It’s one big blobby casserole

Remember those blobby casseroles where there’d be some kind of meat mixed with an onion soup packet topped with corn flakes? You couldn’t even really tell what kind of meat it was. It was like being in a school cafeteria on a bad day, when the chef was hungover and didn’t feel up to making something original. That’s what happens when there are no differences (or very little difference) between social media platforms. If you like those kind of casseroles in real life, then maybe you’d like this post on Epicurious! 73 Easy Casserole Recipes That We Keep Coming Back To. At least once you’re done cooking, you get something delicious! Ok. End of rant.

 

#DigiBlogChat Questions for April 20, 2021

Earth Day and Sustainability 20th April 2021

For this April 20th, our topic is Earth Day and Sustainability, hosted by the wonderful @FinolaSloyanPR. #DigiBlogChat is every Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Here are the questions:

Earth Day is the day designated for fostering appreciation of the earth’s environment.

Q1.  Some of you have had first-hand experience of the issues that threaten the environment. Give your examples and did you look differently at the world after this.

Q2. What is your interest or concern in climate change, or do you think ‘this won’t affect me in my lifetime’?

Q3.  It has been said that many small gestures made collectively can make big environmental changes. What changes have you made?

Q4. Did you know that the large impenetrable detergent containers take years and years to break down? Or that 91% of plastic never gets recycled, according to National Geographic. What have you done to reduce your use of plastic?

Q5. Sir David Attenborough’s latest documentary The Year Earth Changed explores the impact lockdown restrictions across the world have had on the environment – are you interested in seeing nature’s rebound amid Covid?

Q6. Big business will only consider the green angle if it costs less in terms of both upfront CAPEX, as well as reoccurring OPEX charges. How can the world appeal to consciences so that financial reasons are not what will drive business decision?

Q7. Another documentary, Seaspiracy, on Netflix reveals that it is fishing nets, more than plastics, that is the main trash problem in our oceans and it is fishing gear that is showing in washed up whales’ stomachs. Is this widely known?

Q8. It’s a difficult one but has anyone thought about flying less? Elon Musk and Tesla said in their Battery Day that they will drop the price of batteries 56% by 2023. Transportation will be changed as batteries get cheaper and there will come a time when batteries can store enough energy to fly an airliner across the Pacific ocean.

Q9. A 21st century sustainable society needs to have three overlapping concerns working in harmony with the other: environment, social\human and economic wellbeing. Our conversation here on #DigiBlogChat is one way of contributing to raising awareness. What are some other practical steps we can take?

Q10. The theme for this year’s Earth Day is ‘Restore Our Earth’. Have you any plans to acknowledge Earth Day on 22nd – please tell us what they are. Inspire us to act!

Social Media: Five Worst Practices That Can Hurt Your Brand

We all know some things that are super annoying on social media, but are they really worst practices? What’s true and what isn’t? Read on to find out!

Tagging Everyone

Have you been tagged by people who don’t know you so they can sell you something? If you have, maybe you or your brand have been getting unfollowed or — worse — blocked. If you are tagged and then do a “reply all” and reply to everyone, you may risk spamming those who don’t care about the topic. You may also be muted and not even realize it! Social Media Examiner has a swell article about tagging and mentioning on Instagram. I also really like this article by Lisa Larter on Tagging Etiquette: “If you don’t use this etiquette the right way, instead of landing leads and garnering the positive attention you’re seeking, you’ll wind up turning people completely off of you and your content.”

Treating All Platforms Like They’re the Same

Posting the same thing across all social media platforms? Although the languages overlap in some cases, there are still differences between them. For instance, using too many hashtags on Facebook can be the mark of a newbie. Often, people use hashtags that don’t even make sense. Do they think all those hashtags make them look cool? I have no idea. I wrote about this around 100 years ago: Different Platform, Different Language. Then again, sometimes platforms change the rules. For instance, Pinterest which never encouraged hashtags, now does encourage them. It’s worthwhile to do a quick Google search to see what’s happening before using hashtags (or any other practice).

Filling Your Posts with TLAs

Unless your audience is very narrow, and you know them all, then over use of three-letter acronyms can really turn off an audience. It’s a good idea to explain acronyms the first time they’re used, at the very least. I see this a lot in scientific posts. Think about your audience, and whether any of them are newbies. If they are, then consider explaining your acronyms. You may also have followers who aren’t newbies, but are new to your particular field. Explaining your acronyms is never a bad idea.

Being Unsocial

If you’re broadcasting and you/your brand is not a broadcast medium (radio, t.v., etc.), then what is the point of social media? Respond to people, thank them, and mention others often. Share articles that your primary audience might find interesting. And support your friends. If you can’t afford to buy their product or service, you can share what they have to offer, or make connections for them. Speaking of friends, you might like this article on Friend Sourcing.

Posting Unsavory Things

Politics, sexual content, or badmouthing others can lead to being unfollowed. It’s better to focus on the things you might have in common with others. Small talk isn’t such a bad thing on social media. If you’re posting for a political account, that might be an exception. Otherwise, decide what you want to avoid on social media.

#DigiBlogChat Questions for April 13, 2021

Our topic is The Multitasking Myth for #Digiblogchat on April 13th, 2021. #Digiblogchat is every Tuesday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time. Join us on Twitter!

Q1. Do you believe people have the ability to perform more than one task or activity at the same time? If yes, what types of activities? 

Q2. How does splitting your focus between two or more activities affect your productivity? 

Q3. Share a time when you felt forced to multitask in order to get your work done. 

Q4. Do you think multitasking affects your creativity positively or negatively? Why? 

Q5. How does white noise or background music aid your ability to focus on one task? 

Q6. What is the cost of multitasking? 

Q7. Are there any benefits to multitasking and if so, what are they? 

Q8. Have you experienced more errors when multitasking and what was that like? 

Q9. What kinds of time management have you used to get more done? 

Q10. What are some of the best ways to stop multitasking?

The Multitasking Myth: What it Means, Why it Hurts, How to Stop

We’re all busy. We wake up thinking about work, spend most of our waking hours working (if we’re entrepreneurs), and sometimes even dream about work. So of course we multitask sometimes. It can’t be helped, can it? And yet, many experts agree that multitasking is actually an impossibility. We don’t really multitask–we simply switch between tasks very quickly.

What is the multitasking myth?

Wikipedia defines human multitasking (as opposed to computers multitasking, I believe) as “the ability to perform more than one task or activity at the same time, such as speaking on the phone while driving a car.” There have been many articles written about the myth of multitasking, including articles by Inc. magazine, Psychology Today, and NPR. There has even been a TED Talk on the subject. Turns out, we’ve been fooling ourselves all along, thinking we’re doing more, when actually we’re doing less. But when that tricky ego gets involved, we feel more self-satisfied, although we’re doing less. By the way, you might like How to Face and Overcome One-More-Thing-itis. After all, One-More-Thing-itis is related to multitasking!


Why does it hurt us?

Splitting our attention between two or more tasks actually makes us less efficient. That going back and forth saps our energy and leaves us with less than if we’d simply focused on one task. Multitasking wastes our time, energy, and plays tricks on our minds. Our productivity goes down, not up, as we multitask more. In an article from Entrepreneur magazine, Suddan SS discusses the three reasons why multitasking is more unproductive than you think. It increases stress, weakens your memory, and kills your creativity. Speaking of creativity, have you read: How to Quickly and Easily Unleash Your Blogging Creativity?

How do we stop?

As Nike didn’t ever say “Just don’t do it!” Maybe simply knowing that multitasking hurts is the first step, like admitting there’s a problem is the first step in many addiction programs. One thing that helps me is to have white noise or quiet noise on when working. It tricks your brain into getting on track. Another way to stop multitasking is to say no. Say it a lot. As somebody said No is a complete sentence. I like that one. Another way is to turn off all your notifications on your phone. All that beeping simply distracts from the work at hand. And nobody is so busy that they can’t focus on one thing at a time.

Social Media Value: Why it’s important and What to Measure

Social Media Value Why It's important and what to measure

Recently, I bought a dress from an online company. Now this was no ordinary dress. I was able to customize the sleeves, neckline, and hemline. I input each measurement into the online form, which required some standing on one foot and wrestling with a tape measure. After a wait of a few weeks, the dress arrived. And wow! It was incredible, fit like a glove, and was beautiful. Not just because of the embroidery, but the fabric was soft and sturdy. The hems were well stitched, and you could see that the overall the quality was there.

Why am I telling you this story?

Social media can be a lot like that dress. You might pay extra for a good logo, avatar, or headshot, and devote extra time writing your profile, but ultimately it’s worth it. Sometimes it’s difficult to judge the value of a social media account, but there are ways. I haven’t written about this for awhile, but I believe it’s good to review what makes for good social media value. In fact, here’s an article from the Wayback Machine: Creating an Awesome Twitter Avatar. Can you believe it’s from 2012?

Your social media banner should be eye catching

If you have a banner, it should have good balance. It should catch the eye and leave a good first impression. It should definitely be in focus and easily identifiable. By the way, here are some beautiful Twitter banners from Canva. Looking at other social media headers can give you an idea of what you’d like yours to look like. And one pro tip? Make your avatar and banners easy to identify across all your social media accounts. That way, when people travel from Facebook to Instagram to Twitter, they can easily identify you and your brand.

A well-written profile creates good visibility

Does your profile say something about you, what you do, and what’s important to you? And do you change it up occasionally? Or do the things that you’ve said stay the same year after year? Sometimes they do stay the same. Brands may keep the same messaging, but change their logos, for instance. On a personal profile, it’s good to review your profile every year or so. New Year is a good time to do that. Neil Patel has an excellent article about the 10 elements of a successful social media profile.

High-quality posts determine your survivability

Sharing from other pages or accounts is a good way to create engagement. When you share, other people are more prone to share your posts, too. And don’t forget that commenting is a good way to create engagement. People will follow you and share your posts and your account will survive if you post and share. How do you measure it? I like a ratio of 80:20 of shared posts versus original content. It’s pretty simple, but it works.

Measure What Works

Don’t forget to measure what’s working for you. Among some of the things you might like to measure? Although follower count is a vanity metric to some extent, I think it’s important to have a few followers. You don’t want to be talking to yourself, after all.

Different Platform, Different Analytics

Facebook has its own set of analytics, as does Twitter. For Instagram and Pinterest, you need business accounts to see your analytics. Although engagement can be difficult to measure correctly, look at your best posts and see what’s working. Impressions is a measure that some really like. I like checking about once a month, although some like to check more often. Reach is another measure that you might like to check. I won’t go into a lot of details here, but you can use a spreadsheet to track these.

#DigiBlogChat Questions March 30, 2021

The topic for #DigiBlogChat on Tuesday, March 30th is goal setting with Teodora (@emapirciu). Please join us at 1:00 PM pdt on Twitter! 

Q1. What was one goal you’ve achieved in March? 

Q2. When does a dream become a goal? 

Q3. Why is setting specific goals difficult? 

Q4. Goal setting would be easier if ____________. 

Q5. How does setting goals empower people? 

Q6. What do you do to make sure you reach your goals? 

Q7. How do you track your progress when going after your goals?

Q8. How do you fight the fear of missing out (FOMO)? 

Q9. What’s one goal you want to achieve in April?

Q10. What will you do to meet your goal this month?

 

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