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Social Media: What Does Popularity Have to Do with it?

August 22, 2019 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Popularity and social media. The two go together like peanut butter and jelly. People are always concerned by how many likes, how much reach, and how many comments their posts get. Who sees what they post? How much attention do they get? Is anyone paying attention?

Attention is the New Currency

It’s not just that we crave attention. Getting someone’s attention is what makes them think about our brand, and possibly consider buying our services or products. Attention is the true value we place on everything we do online. What are the most popular sites? These are changing all the time, but here they are for 2019: Top 15 Social Networking Sites for 2019. Facebook is clearly the winner, with 2.23 billion users. But take a look at YouTube, with its nearly 2 billion users. And my favorite, Twitter, is finally in the black.

The Secret Sauce to Gain Popularity on Each Site

Every social media platform is different, and gaining popularity is different on each site. On Pinterest, for example, you would post beautiful images that are longish. You might like my last article on Why Pinterest Isn’t Social Media–and Why It Is. And feel free to put up lots and lots of hashtags. Same with Instagram–with many recommending 10-12 hashtags per post. But do that on LinkedIn and you won’t get the reach because hashtags turn people off. People on Facebook, similar to LinkedIn, do not like all the hashtags.

How Often to Post and What to Post

Although people differ widely on how often they post and what they say, one thing is certain: You’ll gain popularity by engaging with others. If engagement is an issue for you, you might like my book 21 Ways to Total Social Media Engagement: That Will Make You Look Like a Pro. There are some simple ways to engage, and you won’t break the bank to get it.

Vanity Metrics and Popularity

If engagement is what you’re after, then a vanity metric like the number of followers you have, won’t matter so much. And yet many brands and newbies to social media pay attention to followers and even buy followers to appear more popular than they are. And yet if you look at their engagement, they’re not talking to anyone.

Do You Value Popularity?

How important is popularity to you? It’s good to have a few followers so you can have conversations and engage with people, but do you need a million? Let me know in the comments! And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: attention is the new currency, social media popularity

Why Pinterest Isn’t Social Media–and Why It is

August 16, 2019 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Pinterest is often seen as a social media site, and yet it’s a very different animal, too. You can “repin” articles, videos, and ideas from others, yet it’s difficult to have a conversation on Pinterest. If conversations are what makes a social media platform, then Pinterest isn’t one.

Pinterest Is a Search Engine

The folks at Pinterest often say that Pinterest is a search engine. And it’s true. You can discover a lot of things you didn’t know you were looking for on Pinterest. Like a favorite retail outlet, you can browse to your heart’s content. You may go into Pinterest not knowing exactly why you came, but there you are looking for that elusive something-or-other. You can use Pinterest to curate your own content, or the content of anything you may find.

Why Pinterest Isn’t Social

Sure, you may see your friends pinning stuff on Pinterest, but it isn’t easy. And it’s easier still to avoid all human contact entirely. Something that us introverts sometimes crave. It’s not like Instagram, where you may have long threads of conversations going back and forth. And it’s not like Facebook or Twitter either, where you can easily connect with people and see who’s online. In fact, in the article Pinterest isn’t a social network. That’s what makes it so great, Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann says “Pinterest is more of ‘a catalog that’s hand-picked’ for users.”

But Then Again, No

If I want to see what my friends are pinning, I can go and look at their boards. I can follow them and repin their pins. I understand why Pinterest wants to distance itself from the other social media platforms with all their privacy issues. And you can see the pins from the people you follow, in the order they pinned them, too. And like Facebook, you can pin your own images from your camera roll. (Isn’t that why you joined Facebook to begin with?) And your pins and boards define who you are, which makes it a lot like Twitter.

Pinterest is Great for Business

Are you using Pinterest for business yet? You definitely should be, and there are tons of reasons why that’s so. For one thing, pins have staying power. Your pinned article lasts 550 days on Pinterest versus 5 hours on Facebook and about 17 minutes on Twitter. That’s a huge difference, and as a business, your time is money. Hootsuite has a good article on How to Use Pinterest for Business that you might like. And by the way, if you think that only women use Pinterest–40% of new users are men. If you have a fantastic startup and are trying to be discovered and heard above all the noise online, then Pinterest is where you should be.

Join Me on Pinterest

If you are interested in Pinterest, and would like to learn more, come on by! Pinterest is a fun place. Who knows what you might find there!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Pinterest, Pinterest as search engine, Pinterest as social media, Pinterest is not social media, Social Media

How to Join #DigiBlogChat Twitter Chat

August 8, 2019 By Carol Stephen 1 Comment

What is #DigiBlogChat?

#DigiBlogChat is a chat on Twitter about social media, blogging, privacy concerns, and many other digital topics. #DigiBlogChat is every Tuesday from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Twitter. My partner on the #DigiBlogChat is Larry (@LazBlazter on Twitter). It’s free to join. Although this post is about how to join #DigiBlogChat, you could join any other chat using the same procedure. Here are some tips for you.

Mark Your Calendar

I try to start exactly on time and respect the time of our followers. Also, if you’d like a reminder about the chat, send me a DM on Twitter and you’ll get a reminder early Monday or Tuesday morning.

Photo by lexly87 aka Duc N. Ly

Search for the Hashtag

Once you’re on Twitter, search for the hashtag. You can join the chat right on Twitter, if you like.

Look for the Questions

After a few minutes of saying hello, you’ll see the first question. Questions are labelled Q1, Q2, Q3, and so on. When you answer, use A1, A2, A3, etcetera.

Add the Hashtag

Make sure you add the #DigiBlogChat hashtag when you tweet so others can see your tweets. You can also add a column in HootSuite so you can see all the tweets.

Use TweetChat or tchat.io

An easy way to add the hashtag is to get on tchat.io or Tweetchat, where the hashtag is automagically added to your tweet. That way you can focus on your answers and type a little less!

TweetChats Move Quickly!

You may feel overwhelmed when you first follow any chat. If it’s too much for you, you may want to lurk until you get the hang of it. When you introduce yourself, you may also want to mention that it’s your first chat. Most moderators will try to include you (unless it’s a huge chat, where you may feel lost when you join).

Photo by YLev

Chat Rules

Most chat moderators frown upon blatant self-promotion. However, there are exceptions. For instance, if you just wrote a blog post directly related to the topic, you might want to ask the moderator if it’s ok to tweet. The other big rule is not to bully anyone or you may get kicked off.

Tweet a Little or Tweet a Lot

There is a huge variation as to how much people tweet during a chat. Most of us tweet more during a chat than at any other time. You may want to warn your followers that you’re joining a chat. If you want to be a really good guest, you might like: How to Excel as a Twitter Chat Guest: 10 Best Ways.

Questions?

Reach out to me on Twitter @Carol_Stephen. Or leave a comment here. Thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: how to join Twitter Chat, Twitter Chat

What Happens When You Focus on Failure and Creativity?

August 1, 2019 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

How are failure and creativity related? We all know the Japanese proverb, “fall down seven times, get up eight.” And usually that relates to being unafraid to fail, like kids are, and persevering, despite all odds. Most adults, unfortunately, are literally afraid of falling. Maybe that fear of failing (and falling) could be a physical as well as a psychological fear. We may get a little inflexible if we’re that afraid. You’ve all seen that person on the freeway, driving 35 miles-per-hour in a 65 miles-per-hour zone, white knuckling the steering wheel. By the way, you might like How Nostradamus Predicted Massive Twitter Failure.

Failure is a Big Deal

To some people, failure is a huge deal. We’re all trained to get the good grades in school, not to try for D’s and F’s. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, talks about the importance of failure, and of the imagination. A mere seven years after her college graduation, she was poor, divorced, a single parent, and jobless. Without her failure, she might “never have found the determination to finish the work the most important to her.” And we all know how that turned out. Because her greatest fear had been realized and she was still alive, she was set free.

Reframing Failure

We can’t plan ahead so much that we never fail, otherwise we risk having a life not worth living at all. And life is full of failures that need to be reframed so that we can move past them. Or else, like J.K. Rowling, if your own worst fear is realized then you can be set free. You might have never thought of it that way. I hadn’t.

When Is Failure Not Failure?

Failure isn’t always failure in the typical sense. For instance, if you release a product that’s a great product but the market isn’t ready for it. Or if you have an idea, but no one listens to it. That may only mean that you’re ahead of your time.

What If Failure Was Mandatory?

I like to play the “what if” game. Here’s one: what if failure was mandatory, and everyone was required to fail a certain number of times? How would that change businesses? There would be a lot more innovation, wouldn’t there? What are your thoughts on failure? Leave me a comment! Don’t be afraid to fail. Really.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: failure and creativity, reframing failure

How to Blog That Will Help You Get Authority in Your Market

July 25, 2019 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Everyone wants to be an authority in their field, and some people say that you have to put in 10,000 hours to blog and be an authority in your market. Seriously? Blogging, you might ask? Haven’t most business owners moved to YouTube or to podcasts? You can create videos or podcasts, but blogging is still critical to your success. Here are a few reasons why, and some ideas on how to blog (and what to blog about).

Answer Frequently Asked Questions

There are those questions people ask over and over. With a blog, you can answer the questions people always ask. And then send people to your blog! So much easier than answering the same questions over and over. And answering those questions naturally helps you gain authority in your niche market. The answers to those Frequently Asked Questions can become evergreen content. For more about evergreen content, you might like: Sick and Tired of the Same Old Content? Create Evergreen Content.

Clarify Your Thoughts

Your ideas may not be fleshed out, but while writing your blog post, your thoughts become much more clear. I often think I learn more writing my posts than those who read my posts. Of couse, carving out the time to write can be an issue, but it’s always a priority. Brian Tracy wrote an excellent article (with video) for Entrepreneur: Why Time Management is an indispensable element of success. Check it out.

Introverts Rule

You may be introverted, shy, or uncomfortable around people. But when you’re blogging to be an authority in your market, you can edit your own thoughts and present them exactly as you’d like them to be seen. So if you’re a perfectionist in addition to being an introvert, that’s a win-win. If you haven’t read this article about introverts and writing headlines, you might like it, too. How to Write Headlines That Will Help You Reach Introverts.

Add Value to Your Community

Many of us have an online community, even if we’re not completely aware of it. Blogging lets you add value to your community and voice your opinion. If you think about your audience, or community, and write about what they’d like to learn about, you’ll always be an authority. By the way, I really like this Huffington Post Life article about the Importance of Community.

And of Course, SEO

When we blog for authority, we’re also blogging for the little bots that roam around on Google. So they like us to be writing and updating our blogs and websites constantly. Blogging helps with SEO.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: blogging for authority

What Happens When a Twitter Zero Becomes a Twitter Hero?

July 18, 2019 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

What Happens When a Twitter Zero Becomes a Twitter Hero?

It’s amazing to me that so many people still find Twitter so mysterious. Twitter might have a slightly longer learning curve than other social media platforms, but it’s still the friendliest social media platform, in my opinion. Are you ready to go from Twitter Zero to Twitter Hero? Here are some ideas for you.

Photo by DVIDSHUB

Stop Sending DMs

Unless you’re just saying hello (and not in an automated way), just stop it. Don’t tell us how we’re “free to follow you on LinkedIn.” Don’t tell us about the thingamabob you’re selling. And please, please, please don’t send a video of your product. Because if you do, you’re surely a zero. Instead, read some of our tweets. See what we’re talking about and what interests us. Then jump into the conversation. You know: engage with us. This will help you become more of a Twitter Hero. By the way, if you’re completely lost on the topic of social media engagement, you might the book I co-wrote with Eric Lofholm: 21 Ways to Total Social Media Engagement: That Will Make You Look Like a Pro.

Don’t Blast Us with Your Content

We literally just met you. And if we have thousands of followers, we really won’t see your stuff above all the noise. If you want to get our attention, you could retweet something of ours, and add a comment, too! Now that would take you from zero to hero quickly. Blasting someone with and telling us to buy something is beyond rude. It doesn’t work, and makes people angry. And it’s a good way to get unfollowed. You don’t want to come off as spammy–that’s one of the reasons you’re not gaining followers, according to 10 Reasons Why You’re Not Gaining Social Media Followers and how to Fix it.

We Don’t Care That You’re Three Followers Short of 2,000

We really don’t. You’re the only one that does. Keep that kind of stuff on the down low. Have your fancy cupcake and champagne offline, at home, and share it with someone who cares. That is, unless you’re giving away a brand new car (the new Tesla, for instance) when you reach your 2,000th follower. In that case, we really do care! Don’t know how to engage? Read this: How to Engage Social Media: Twitter .

Change up the Stuff You Tweet

Don’t tweet the same tweet 10,000 times in a row. Nobody likes that. Instead, give us some variety. And make sure your images are good quality, too. There are tons of places to find free images if you’re not artistic. Personally, I really like Pixabay. Just make sure the images you choose are ok for commercial use.

Ask Questions of the Seasoned Professionals

If you’re really, really new on Twitter. just ask others what to do. We’re really a pretty friendly crowd. Find the people who are engaging and do some of what they do. You’ll see how awesome Twitter is.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Social Media, Twitter, Twitter hero, Twitter zero

5 Best Reasons You Should Outsource Your Social Media

July 11, 2019 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

5 Best Reasons You Should Outsource Your Social Media

There are lots of reasons that you should outsource your social media. From the “just don’t wanna” to the “could, but it takes too much time,” there’s a range of reasons you might not want to do your own social media. After nine years doing social media for a living, here are my five best ones.

It’s Not Your Strength

You’re really great at coming up with ideas. You have patents on all sorts of devices, and have numerous start-ups to your name. Why would you want to begin something that doesn’t interest you and isn’t your strength? You probably wouldn’t want to! Why not focus on your strengths? Don’t take my word for it, though. Check out these Ten Reasons to Focus on Your Strengths by Michelle McQuaid in Psychology Today.

But it is Someone Else’s Strength

There’s someone else out there who has social media as a strength. Someone who enjoys doing the research, wording the captions, and acting on your behalf. There are all sorts of little tricks that you’d have to learn by being online every day. Someone has already put in the time so you don’t have to, and that someone would be me!

You’re Already Over-Stressed

The idea of being on Twitter or Facebook gives you the shivers, and not in a good way. Sleep is already a tough concept for you, and you’re just beginning to understand the rest of your business. Besides, you simply don’t have time to learn something new. And your brain is full enough already! The Pew Research Center has a plethora of statistics on the cost of caring. See Psychological Stress and Social Media Usage.

Photo by val_girl

A Professional Knows How to Engage on Your Behalf

Engagement is really important. In fact, everyone says engagement is the most important thing if you have social media accounts. You know that vanity metrics definitely don’t cut it. If you haven’t read my book on social media engagement, you might like it: 21 Ways to Total Social Media Engagement That Will Make You Look Like a Pro.

So You Can Have a Life

Remember back in the day when you promised yourself that you’d keep your life in balance? And then five years went by and you haven’t seen your family during that time? Yep. Having a life is pretty important. You might like this article: See Why Work-Life Balance is the Unicorn of the Working World.

Maybe You Have Other Reasons

Maybe you have your own reasons for outsourcing your social media. What are they? Leave me a comment (or contact me if you need social media management)! And thank you.

Photo by be creator

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: outsourcing social media

This is What Happens When You Use Video on Social Media

July 4, 2019 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

By now, you’ve noticed that there are lots and lots more videos on social media. Video is all over the place, and there’s plenty of bad video. Out-of-focus, way too long, disorganized videos, too. There’s definitely an up side to using video on social media, and there’s a down side, too.

You Can Get Lots of Attention

You’ll get attention–whether positive or negative is up to you. If you post all the time and share every moment, you may get unfollowed or muted. Not everyone is into cats, or cats wearing pajamas, or wants to see how you make a sandwich. By the way, if you want to be less annoying, you might like How to Be Less Annoying on Social Media. For starters, nobody wants your video sale pitch as a private message on Instagram.

Video Views Are Up

The time of video is here now. We’re all competing for attention from our viewers, and there’s only so much of it to go around. And people get tired of reading. Don’t you? I do sometimes. And I admit sometimes watching videos that are way, way off-topic. According to Lilach Bullock, 82% of Twitter users view video content on the app. See her excellent article Why You Need to Start Creating More Videos on Social Media. And you really need to create videos, particularly if you want to attract millennials, who are the most avid consumers of video.

Don’t Panic Yet

If you think you need a professional set-up to create good video, here’s the good news. You can create a good video on your phone, upload it to the social media platform of your choice, and share it there. Video, in my opinion, doesn’t have to be created by a videographer to get views. In fact, sometimes people prefer amateur videos (that would be me).

Goodnight, Dragons!

Every week, on our Twitter chat, #DigiBlogChat, I tweet out Goodnight, Dragons at the end of the chat! This week, since we were talking about video on social media for business, I created a little snippet, because after all, we needed a real example. It was created in about 15 minutes using an iPhone. The hardest part, truthfully, was clearing off my desk and getting the cats not to attack the card. So if that’s not proof that you can create a video, too, I don’t know what is.

Are You Using Video Yet? Why or Why Not?

Leave me a comment, and let me know your experience with video. Do you like video? Hate video?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: video on social media

How you can engage with people different from yourself?

June 27, 2019 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

How you can engage with people different from yourself?

For this post, I actually took my own advice. Stuck for topics, I went back and read my post how to come up with a year’s worth of blog content. And buried in that blog post, was the title for this blog post!

Start with the Generic

When you’re talking to someone with a different background, start with the generic. You might try the weather. These days, the weather can be more than a litle exciting. In fact, sometimes I’d rather have the weather be a lot more boring! Often, friends in different parts of the country or the world are struggling with flooding or drought. And sometimes they appreciate your asking how they are. Speaking of boredom, have you read Can the Simple Pursuit of of Total Boredom Make You Smarter?

Our Workforce is Diverse

You may need to work with someone with a different background since our work force is now spread all over the globe. People with different racial backgrounds, of different ages, and different viewpoints all need to get along. Many of my friends get to work with people from India or China, for instance, as a result of their work. And on social media it’s easy to connect with people in different countries.

Keep Talking

Don’t for an instant assume that you have nothing in common with that ultra-liberal tree hugging kook you just met online (oh, wait! That would be me!). Keep talking to them, and you’ll see that they’re not that different from you. They love their family, enjoy good food, want security, and so on. They’re probably thinking the same thing about you that you are about them. But there’s still common ground. I like this article by Aysha Bagshi, Sense and Nonsense: Diversity and Friendship. In it, she says “In a diverse environment, the truest of friendships require trusting and sharing to be implicit and perennial.”

Don’t Give up

Even if that person voted for someone you’d never vote for in a million years, chances are you may have hobbies in common. Or you’ve lived or visited the same place. Or, as Aysha Bagshi shares in her article, you feel a closeness despite being advantaged or disadvantaged. And even if their personality is quirky, you never know. You could end up being very good friends.

Are Your Friends Similar to You or Different?

Some friends can be challenging to maintain. Others always have an interesting perspective. Do you like to hang out with people who are similar to yourself? Let me know in the comments. And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: how to engage with different people

Email Marketing: How to Dive Deeper 10 Ways and Why

June 20, 2019 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Email Marketing: How to Dive Deeper 10 Ways and Why

Last week’s #DigiBlogChat: “a deeper dive into email marketing” with Brandon Olson of aWeber was so informative that I’ve decided to create a blog post summarizing some of the high points. By the way, if you’d like to join #DigiBlogChat, we’re on Twitter Tuesdays at 1:00 pm Pacific Time, and we’d be happy to have you!