Sometimes the best ideas for blog posts come from clients. Like this one. And sometimes when one person has a question, it’s one that many people might ask. This definitely goes under Frequently Asked Questions! So here are a few things you can do if you’re in a time crunch, or if 30 minutes is all the time you have for social media. So for this one, I’m going to turn on my timer and make sure I can make it through.

Check Notifications

On Twitter, there’s a little blue bell. Click it and you’ll see your notifications. On Facebook, there’s either a little blue bell (on mobile) or a little red square at the top of your feed. On LinkedIn, like the others, has a little bell for Notifications. And here’s a quick summary, straight from the horse’s mouth (LinkedIn) about managing your LinkedIn Notification Updates.

Thank People

If someone has retweeted you, thank them. Same with anything of yours that someone has shared. You can return the favor if you want, but the most important thing is to thank them. There are several ways you can thank people. You might like: Beyond the Magic Words: 8 Ways to Say Thank You!

Engage

Say hello to people, comment on others’ posts, and share. Those are three really simple ways to engage. As you might know, I’m a big believer in engagement. In fact, you might like this post about engagement: For Better Social Media Results, Focus on Engagement.

That’s it!

What would you add? What would you subtract? Thanks for letting me know!

We’ve all heard that old saw about expecting the same results from the same effort. And if you do the same thing day after day and week after week, you’ll probably get the same results, right? Does the same apply to social media?

Dialing it in

Whether you’re on social media or in a classroom or delivering a lecture, it’s important to keep it fresh. That means changing it up each and every time. Evergreen content can be changed to up its Freshness Quotient. Here are some examples, from an article Sick and Tired of the Same Old Content? Create Evergreen Content!

Skipping the Homework

Nobody should skip doing their homework, even if that homework only involves a few minutes of work. And sometimes a few minutes is all it takes. For instance, research on a competitor can be done with a quick Google search. Even a single post may take you some time.

The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog

It’s a typing exercise, sure, but it’s also a life lesson. Who knew? Of course quickness will outpace laziness. Always. It’s the reason small startups can move faster than big corporations. Neil Patel explains why the best startups execute faster than anyone else. He also talks about how the best startups fail and start again.

Sloth as a Deadly Sin

“Unlike the other capital sins, which are sins of committing immorality, sloth is a sin of omitting responsibilities.” From the Wikipedia on Sloth. If you can avoid sloth, then chances are you won’t be using the same old baloney. If you’re stuck in a rut, though, you might want to shoot me an email!

If you’re a beginner on social media, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed. Your friends have been on Facebook for years, so they’re no help. What to do? Here are five simple things you can do on Facebook.

Check Your Notifications

Updates are shown through little red squares on Facebook. Click on them and you’ll see who’s trying to reach you, when a post has another comment on it, and things like that. You can change which notification you get through your settings. Here’s an excellent article about Facebook’s Notifications Being Out of Control. By the way, you can change your notifications if you’re getting too many of them.

Post Something

If you’re a business, post something about your business, such as a change in your services. Or maybe you got a new logo and would like to say something about that. Or put up a blog post. By the way, posts with images or videos get a lot more views than just text posts. And if you want to engage others on Facebook, you might like: How to Engage on Social Media: Facebook. Be forewarned, though: getting engagement on Facebook is difficult unless you pay to play.

Comment on Someone Else’s Post

Try writing a comment on a public post. You can also comment on someone else’s comment. Don’t forget that commenting increases your visibility just like creating a post does. There’s a right and a wrong way to comment, however. You probably shouldn’t comment on every single one of your friends’ posts, as Jeva Anand describes in Posting Comments to Other People’s Wall on Facebook. And you definitely don’t want to spam anyone. Please keep your comment about the subject of the other person’s post–otherwise, you could get unfriended or blocked. The good thing about commenting on someone else’s post is often they may feel compelled to return the favor and comment on your page!

Photo by Iain Farrell

Connect with a New (or an Old) Friend

That business associate you worked with ten years ago is probably on Facebook. Why not reach out and connect? If your friend has a business page, you can connect with them there, too. You probably have some new friends that you could also be friends with on Facebook. You’d be surprised who’s there. Don’t forget to set up your own Facebook business page, too, once you get comfortable with Facebook.

Join a Group or Two

There are groups for all sorts of things on Facebook. Like mountain bikes? Do a search and you’ll find a group. Enjoy traveling? There’s a group for that! Want to explore your bird watching hobby? You can definitely find fellow bird watchers. And if you’re an author, you might want to know how to promote your book with Facebook. When you’re comfortable with groups, you might even want to start your own.

Need More Help?

Still feel stuck? Facebook, just like other social media platforms, can definitely be overwhelming! It’s changing all the time and difficult to stay updated. I can definitely help you sort things out!

You might notice that I skipped over the idea of whether your cats belongs on social media at all. Because of course they do. Cats have opinions about pretty much everything. And they love to share. Even if you don’t want to hear–they want to share. So I’m assuming that your cats needs to be somewhere on social media. And since so many introverts love cats, you might also like this article: Six Facts about Introverts and Social Media that Will Impress Your Friends.

LinkedIn

Only the most professional cats can make it on LinkedIn. Some of them might be professional, but the professional air only lasts for a few minutes at a time. For most, LinkedIn is unsustainable. They will seem professional, but when the catnip appears, all bets are off.

Twitter

This has always been my favorite platform, for cats and non-cats alike. Your cat may want to express its opinion, be snarky, and bask in its own beauty. Twitter is great for the pithy comment, too. My late, great kitty Purrsilla had a great run on Twitter as @BigDataKitty. She mostly insulted people and also she got listed with some big data professionals. Just her and 49 guys in suits. Does that sound like your cat?

Facebook

But of course your cat belongs on Facebook. Why not? Perhaps a private group for your kitty would give him or her the best audience. Yes–you can have an audience with a cat (since cats are similar to the Pope and a cat might grant you an audience–if you’re lucky). People want to see cute pictures, such as your cat basking in the sun, stealing food off your plate, and of course sleeping.

Cats and TikTok

TikTok

Yes, videos belong on Tiktok, and cats love videos. Ergo your cat belongs on TikTok. All three of mine have a video together on TikTok. The video was too big to put here, but you can go look at it on TikTok. And it looks like…

YouTube

There were 2 million cat videos on YouTube as of 2015–so you can just imagine how many there are now, five years later. Here’s a wiki about cats on the Internet. And there’s this: “In 2015, there were more than 2 million cat videos on YouTube, with an average of 12,000 views each – a higher average than any other category of YouTube content.”

Need Help Getting Your Cat on Social Media?

I’m available to help!