Carol Stephen, Author at

Maslow’s Unbelievably Strange Hierarchy of Social Media Needs

March 1, 2018 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Maslow’s Unbelievably Strange Hierarchy of Social Media Needs

Few know about Maslow’s unpublished work on social media (for his published work, see the Wikipedia). And most people doubt that he wrote about social media, since it had not yet been invented. But c’mon! Leonardo da Vinci wrote about flying machines and a simple visit via the Wayback Machine can give us all the info we need. Right?

By the way, if you like this article, you might like What Nikola Tesla Said About the New iPhone Will Blow Your Mind!

Physiological Needs

At the bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy is a category called Physiological Needs. These needs include food, water, shelter, etc. If we apply that to social media, that would be barely surviving on social media. That is, before doing anything else on Instagram, you need to be on Instagram. You’ve seen all those accounts with NO posts and yet 147 followers, right? What is up with that?

Safety Needs

After the first needs are met, a person needs to be safe physically, financially, etc. On the Interwebs, a person needs to feel safe from spam, government shutdowns, and trolls. They need to be able to tweet peaceably without fear of repercussions. They need to be able to talk about their vacation without a meddlesome relative stepping in to insist that they spend all their vacation in some god-forsaken part of Northern California without Internet. Oh, wait–that’s just me. But it still applies!

Photo by andersfrick

Social Belonging

According to Maslow, humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance among social groups. For some introverts, the sense of belonging might only apply to befriending a couple of cats and a duck. Extroverts are happier with a larger party–say ten ducks–and five cats.

On social media, this sense of belonging could apply to Facebook groups, Twitter chats, or Instagram video. People post pictures of their babies, their dogs dressed as cats, and their cats dressed as sheep. Somehow that makes them feel like they belong. Dogs dressed as cats are not so bad–but cats dressed as sheep? That’s just wrong! As Maslow himself said, “Popular with whom? Perhaps it is better for a youngster to be unpopular with the neighboring snobs or with the local country club set.”

Esteem

Recognition, status, importance, and respect are all things we need. And people gain all of these by posting on social media. Often the things that they post are, shall we say, in the fantasy realm. The pics of their cats dressed as sheep are photoshopped to appear more sheeplike. Their vacations are edited to sound more fun. People only show their best side so as to appear happier and elicit jealousy from their friends. Nobody talks about the time they got fired, or drank too much and woke up in a strange city, asleep in bed with a platypus.

Self-Actualization

When a person can realize his or her full potential that is self-actualization. On social media, your results may vary drastically. There has been a lot of talk about transparency lately. Maslow was probably talking about social media and transparency when he wrote the self-actualization stage of the hierarchy.

For the self-actualization on social media, Maslow includes the following:

When you post a question on Twitter, you get a reply 100% of the time
Every post on Facebook is met with smiley faces, never angry ones
People think you’re awesome on Instagram, and each picture gets hundreds of comments.

Self-Transcendence

Maslow talks about generosity of spirit, about giving to some outside organization. On social media, only a couple of people have reached this goal. Non-profits sometimes make the leap. The only person who has reached this lofty level, though, is the Dalai Lama.

Have You Met Your Basic Needs on Social Media?

If not, give me a call. I can move you to your next level.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Maslow's Hierarchy of Social Media Needs, social belonging

How to Use Network Analysis to Help You Understand Social Media

February 25, 2018 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Marc Smith on #DigiBlogChat

This week on #DigiBlogChat, our Twitter Chat every Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time, our special guest is Marc Smith, of the Social Media Research Foundation. The chat will take place Tuesday, February 27, 2018. Here are some preliminary vocabulary and ideas.

The Shape of #DigiBlogChat

The Shape of Social Conversations

Marc looks at the shape of social media conversations to see who’s connecting, conversing, or broadcasting. Did you ever think about social media having a shape? Me, neither. Not until recently. The graph above shows the shape of the #DigiBlogChat hashtag.

Measuring the Shapes

“Networks are collections of connections. Social media allows people to author connections with one another – by liking, linking, following, friending, favoriting, rating, reviewing, replying, and sharing. In aggregate, these collections of connections have a shape. Network analysis is about measuring that shape as well as calculating the position of each person within the larger structure.” ~ Marc Smith

How is a Network Approach Different?

“There is a difference between volume and structure. Today, most tools focus on the volumes of things: followers, likes, retweets, etc. In contrast, a network approach has a focus on the structure that is created when people connect with one another. People often connect, but they do not do so in the same shape or structure – even if there are the same number of people.” ~ Marc Smith (emphasis mine)

Network Vocabulary

What are the core concepts and terms in networks?

Vertex = “the thing”
Edge = “the connection between two things”
Group = a collection of vertices
Centrality = a position of a vertex “in the middle of things”
Bridge = a vertex with an edge that connects to a vertex in a different group
Density = how interconnected everyone is to everyone
Centralization = how connected everyone is to just one or a few others (“hubs”)

Wikipedia for More Information

These definitions from Wikipedia may help provide more information:

Want to Learn More?

Learn with us on #DigiBlogChat on Twitter, Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. We’re on Twitter every Tuesday at the same time if you miss this chat. It’s a big, friendly group, and we’d be glad to have you join in!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: bridge, centrality, centralization, density, edge, group, social media and network analysis, vertex

Is it Strange to Expect ROI from Your Social Media?

February 22, 2018 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Is it Strange to Expect ROI from Your Social Media?

This is probably the #1 question that potential clients ask. They always want ROI (Return on Investment). But gaining ROI is a tricky business, and there are a number of factors to consider. For instance, what if I drive customers to your website, and it’s a mangled mess of spaghetti where they become lost for hours?

Photo by Schezar

Social Media Managers Can Only Do So Much

As social media managers, we can only do so much. We can’t fix your badly damaged website. Sorry to be so blunt, but a bad website will make users leave immediately, with a bad taste in their mouths. You might like this article: What Can a Social Media Manager Do for You?

What is the Customer’s Journey?

The customer’s journey must be considered when thinking about social media and the ROI. Here’s an example. A friend of mine recently tried to order medical supplies on a website. She received a message to order over the phone. She ordered over the phone, supposedly with success. One week later, she received a text that her doctor had not written a prescription, immediately before a four-day weekend! She still has not received her supplies, and she is not only frustrated, but she pities the people who have to work at the medical supply company. If you’re looking for a better website design, hiring a designer like my friend Karen Sielski’s Level 10 Creative could really help.

What Do You Sell?

Another consideration is what you’re selling. So driving traffic from a tweet to buying a car? That’s a huge leap. But we can make your potential customers aware of your business, and perhaps lure them with an open house or a special offer (for brick and mortar stores). For online businesses, driving traffic to sign-ups for classes is also possible. We can help create trust and rapport through social media engagement. The sales part is up to you for the most part. Here’s a guide to social media engagement that you might like: How to Engage on Social Media: the Complete Guide.

Measuring ROI Is Possible

That said, measuring ROI is possible, as this article Ultimate Guide to Measure Social Media ROI outlines. And notice the modest goals chosen to measure (email list sign-ups, for instance), transforming a casual user into a lead.

How Do You Measure Success?

I’m certain that I’ve left something out. What ways do you measure your success? Leave me a comment! And thank you!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: driving traffic with social media, Return on Investment, ROI and Social Media, sales, success on social media

What Can a Social Media Manager Do for You?

February 15, 2018 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

What Can a Social Media Manager Do for You?

This is a question that I get all the time. If you’re a social media manager (“SMM”), maybe you get it, too! Every SMM is a little different, as far as their skills, and we refer to each other all the time if something is out of our league. That said, here are a few common things that an SMM can do for you.

Research

We can figure out what things might interest your audience based on knowing your ideal demographic. Your audience is interested in more than just your product or service. For instance, say your non profit works to save the redwoods, like Sempervirens does (one of my favorite organizations). Their followers would probably like to hear about parks that have redwood trees, educational events, and articles about redwood trees. They might also be interested in the animals, insects, and people who visit redwood groves as well as which climates support redwood groves.

Photo by Elsie esq.

Decide Where and When to Post

We figure out where you need to be on the internet–that is, which platform, and when. If you’re a brick-and-mortar store, we would probably focus on times that your local audience is online. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes tools that we use to figure out this stuff, and the post is really just the tip of the iceberg. By the way, you might like this article: Ten Simple Ways to Choose the Best Social Media Platform.

Choose Hashtags

We can help you come up with hashtags for your business, and how many we should use (and where, too!). Because not every platform is hashtag-friendly. Hah! #HashtagFriendly would be a great hashtag, don’t you think? If you like hashtags, you might like this article: How to Catapult Your Tweets Farther? Use a Powerful Hashtag!

Photo by jbolles

Engage Online

The biggest problem for most businesses is having the time to engage online. Most SMMs do this for you (not all of them, though). And since Facebook’s algorithm is changing once again, engagement has become more important than ever so that you appear. Engagement is such an issue for many people that I’ve written a series on Engagement.

On Overwhelm?

Then you might need a social media manager! If “I’ll never get this done” is your constant companion, as Linda Hardenstein says in this Forbes Article, Five Simple Steps to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed at Work, then you may need some help. A social media manager can get you out of overwhelm and let you get back to the business of running your business!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: help you decide where to post, research, what can a social media manager do for you

Hiring a Professional Blogger? What You Need to Know First

February 8, 2018 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Hiring a Professional Blogger? What You Need to Know First

You’ve heard the idea before that anyone can write. True, anyone can write. But not everyone can write well. And not everyone can keep your business and your interests at the top of their mind. Since I’ve been blogging for awhile now (over five years), I’ve learned a few things. Here are some things to keep in mind if you’re looking for someone to hire for blogging. By the way, I’m available!

Education

Not everyone cares about formal education, but some do. So you might want to ask where the person you want to hire went to school. Do they have a degree in something related to writing? For instance, my degree is from U.C. Berkeley, in English. Also, do they have any other writing experience, such as technical writing, that could assist them in their (and your) blogging efforts?

Experience

How important is experience? That depends upon what you’d like your blogger to write about. Would having someone inexperienced be better? Who will be reading your blog posts and will that reader care if there are mistakes? Would you care if there were mistakes? Probably yes and yes! So consider someone with some experience. And of course real-world experience counts, as this article from Inc. Magazine outlines: Why Your Company Needs to Hire a Writer (And How to Find the Right One).

Photo by numb3r

Deadlines and Punctuality

You probably want someone who’s a self-starter and can make deadlines, right? You don’t need to be babysitting the person who writes your professional blog. You’d like the posts to be scheduled on time so you can do your job, which means running your company. What kind of track record does your blogger have? Can he or she write to a deadline? How can you tell if they’ll be punctual? Were they on time to the meeting with you? You could ask their references.

Photo by dou_ble_you

Creativity

Do you have to come up with all the ideas for your blog yourself? Or would you rather have a blogger who can come up with optimized headlines and ideas for you, once she knows what you do? Speaking of headlines, they can sometimes be a pain in the asterisk! Of course, the best is to have a team approach where everyone decides on the blog ideas together and then the blogger can be set loose to do what she does best–write.

Photo by See-ming Lee (SML)

Confidence

Would you prefer someone who consistently has writer’s block? Or would you rather have someone who can sit down and write without a lot of prompting? Ha! I thought so! Writing is work. It’s not waiting to get prepared to sit down to write. No. It’s actually sitting down and writing. Every day. If your would-be writer carries a notebook around, that’s a big clue that you’ve got someone with passion as well as confidence.

Photo by Karen Roe

Engagement with Blog Readers

Will your blogger know how to engage with those who read the blog? Or will you be expected to do that? Personally, I recommend that bloggers engage with readers directly. Another good skill to have is to comment on others’ blogs besides yours, if possible.

Top-Notch Imagery

Without interesting images to draw readers in, a blog can be a simple wall o’words. And you certainly don’t want that!

Do You Have Someone Like This in Mind?

If not, then I have a suggestion for you. Give me a call. I would be happy to give you a free consultation. Maybe we can work together!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: How to engage with blog readers, how to hire a professional blogger

This is What Happens When You Disconnect from Social Media

February 1, 2018 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

This is What Happens When You Disconnect from Social Media

Everyone seems to like to talk about their goals and dreams during the first part of a new year. Then, about the first week in February, all those goals seem to fly out the window. The goals of working out and losing weight are forgotten. Gym memberships go unused and giant tubs of ice cream make their way into the shopping carts once again. What about balance? How is it possible to have balance year round when work eats up all your time and energy?

Is Balance Even Possible?

On the topic of social media, is it really possible to unplug? And I’m not asking just because I have the answers–it’s as much an issue for me as for anyone else. But here are some things that have helped me. Maybe they’ll help you, too.

Buy a State Park Pass

The State of California has an annual pass to all the parks. You might not think you need one, but trust me, you do! (Or maybe the pass for your own state parks, if that exists.) You can’t always easily walk into any park. Sometimes, parks have miles of roads past the entrance, and a pass allows you to really explore a park’s interior without first walking in (at least that’s how it works in California).

Henry Cowell Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Addicted to Social Media?

Last year, I bought a park pass and it seriously changed my life. And, if you’re addicted to social media, you can always use the excuse that you need pictures so you can post them to your Instagram later. My personal Instagram is full of images from these forays into parks, by the way. Henry Cowell Park, above, is a personal favorite.

Blackmail Yourself

You could also blackmail yourself into disconnecting from social media, as Reyna Gobel explains in her article: How to blackmail yourself into achieving your goals.

Or Not

Or, you could just get outside, breathe in the fresh air, enjoy the sunshine (or the fog, where I live), with the promise that you’ll feel like a new person when you get back. Isn’t that enough?

How Do You Disconnect from Social Media?

Leave me a comment if you’re not too busy hiking in the park!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: disconnecting from social media, social media addiction, state park pass

Social Media Marketing: What Does it Do? In a Nutshell.

January 25, 2018 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Social Media Marketing: What Does it Do? In a Nutshell.

A friend of mine, David Stucker asked: what does social media marketing do? (Follow David Stucker on Twitter) Why is it so great or effective? And I had to step back for a moment, because the advantages seem so clear to me.

Social Media Marketing Definition

From Technopedia: “Social media marketing (SMM) refers to techniques that target social networks and applications to spread brand awareness or promote particular products.”

Why Is Social Media Marketing Effective?

Social Media Marketing is effective for many reasons:

SMM can be used to target a particular demographic
Business owners can spend nothing (but their time) on up to millions of dollars to create brand recognition
Cleverness is rewarded
You can increase leads
Let potential customers know about events
Increase brand awareness

For instance, if your business is targeting people who fish in the state of Minnesota, it’s possible to find that audience through social channels.

Is Social Media Marketing Better Than Traditional Marketing?

SMM can definitely be more targeted. For instance, if you’re in the construction trades, you can follow others in the construction trades and then market to them and also share their posts, since your target markets will probably overlap. Or, if you’re a brick-and-mortar store, you can follow those in your immediate area. A billboard might hit some of the people in your target market, but not with the precision of SMM. Also, you can’t engage with a billboard, whereas with SMM, you can definitely engage.

Benefits of SMM Over Traditional Marketing

Now, I’m not saying people should give up on traditional marketing. But they should definitely know what the benefits are of reaching people electronically.

SMM is more targeted
Engagement is greatly increased with SMM
Bigger reach with SMM
Much better ROI with SMM (excellent article with chart from The Social Observer).

Why Do You Use Social Media?

If you prefer social media over traditional marketing, let me know. If you don’t, let me know that, too! And thank you for stopping by!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: SMM, social media marketing, social media marketing versus traditional marketing

Sick and Tired of the Same Old Content? Create Evergreen Content!

January 18, 2018 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Sick and Tired of the Same Old Content? Create Evergreen Content!

Have you been chasing down every holiday, trying to jump on every trending hashtag, only to be worn out by the chase? Why not try creating evergreen content? Here are some ideas for you.

Same Questions, Different Day?

To you, that question about why you should not wear stripes and polka dots together seems obvious. After all, you’ve been a fashion designer for 20 years! But to your clients, not so much! Explain to them in a blog post why stripes and polka dots clash. Not only that, show them pictures! You might even have one great idea that could be turned into a series.

Photo by European Southern Observatory

Share Widely

Now that you’ve written that article, share it all over! And then after a decent amount of time (five days? one week?), share it again! People will probably not remember that they saw that article the first time. Even big brands share their content more than once! Of course, you can probably get away with more sharing on Twitter than say, LinkedIn. So mind where you share. For more ideas about recycling your content, see How to Recycle Content: 10 Best Ways.

Photo by hernanpba

Rinse and Retweet

Continue sharing, scheduling, and repeating articles. After all, you’ve taken a lot of time to write that article, haven’t you?

Don’t Forget to Share Others’ Posts

While you’re at it, share others’ articles and content as well as your own. Your audience doesn’t want to see just your own content, after all. Unless you’re the New York Times or a big media outlet, that is. While we’re on the subject of sharing others’ posts, here’s an article about engagement that you might like: How to Engage on Social Media: The Complete Guide.

What to Write?

I’ve found a very good place to start is with those frequently asked questions that you hear all the time! Start with those. Have an outsider ask you questions about your business and if the answers aren’t already obvious and easy to find on your website or social media, answer those questions with an article. Here’s a good article about finding things to write about, from CopyBlogger: 50 Can’t-Fail Techniques for Finding Great Blog Topics. By the way, the tip to write about pain is a great one. Pain points are where your product or service can step in and provide a cure.

Have a Favorite Way to Find Topics?

How do you find topics to write about? Do you have a simple way to discover new content? Let me know in the comments! Thanks!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: article sharing, evergreen content for blogging, sharing content, writing evergreen content

How to Outsource Social Media That Will Help You Have More Time

January 11, 2018 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

How to Outsource Social Media That Will Help You Have More Time

Sure, you’re ambitious. And your startup just got funded. And you believe that you can sleep when you’re dead. But do you really want to learn all the intricacies of social media in addition to learning about your own business? What if you could outsource your social media? Well, you can!

Why Outsource?

Because the person or agency you hire has been steeped in social media for years, and can think of ways to brand your business in ways you probably haven’t considered. Do you have the expertise it takes? Do you have the extra time? If you’re a business owner, you’re probably too busy running your business! Here’s a good article you might like: Why your small business needs to outsource social media.

Find Someone You Trust

Look at a few consultants and check for testimonials on their website. If they’ve been around awhile, they probably have a tab or spot for testimonials. Make sure they don’t all have the same last name as the person you’re checking out, either. Ok, I’m joking. But make sure the testimonials look legit. For instance, here are my testimonials.

Consider An Audit

An audit won’t usually put you out as much as hiring someone full time, and you can see if you like what the auditor has to say. If you already have a start on some social platforms, you could use an audit to see what you’re doing right. Do you like what you see on your audit? Then maybe take the next step. Although you can conduct a social media audit yourself, you could have a social media consultant such as myself do one for you.

Think About a Light Touch

Don’t have the funding yet for a full-blown effort? How about “squatting” (that is, reserving the names on your social platforms) in some places and doing the minimum to keep your name out there. A social media consultant can do an audit and get you started, create profiles where you need them, and clean up your profiles so that when you’re ready to go, you can jump in with both feet.

Get Social Media Strategy

Paying for strategy is a good way to go if you’re someone who likes to mull over your direction for a bit. Most CEOs and startups like this option, since it’s decisive, and gives you a chance to work together and get to know one another. If you don’t know where to start, you could answer these questions for your own brand or startup: 100 Best Questions that Will Guide Your Social Media Resolutions.

Photo by seanhagen

Ask Me for an Audit!

Go ahead, I dare you! Or leave me a comment below. That’s good, too! Thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: do you really have time for social media, outsourcing social media, social media audit, social media saving time, social media strategy

100 Best Questions That Will Guide Your Social Media Resolutions

January 4, 2018 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

100 Best Questions That Will Guide Your Social Media Resolutions

Don’t know exactly what resolutions you should have for your social media for 2018? Here are a few questions to help you develop your social media resolutions. There are 10 sections: Audience, Identify Your Why, Engagement, Content Creation, Platforms, Video, Images/Infographics, Keywords and Hashtags, Measurement, and Personal Accounts.

Photo by perzonseo

Audience

There’s a reason audience is at the top of this list! When you’re talking to someone, you need to know what is important to that person, and what their pain points are. If you have no idea who your audience is, here you go: 10 Free Tools to Help You Understand Your Social Media Audience. And here: Using Surveys to Define Your Target Audience.

Who is your audience? (And please don’t say everyone!)

What is the lifestyle of your audience? In other words, what do they do when they’re not buying your product or service?

How will you build a better target persona?

What type of language does your target audience use?

What will you do to better target your audience this year?

Where do you think your audience likes to hang out?

Do you hang out the same place your audience hangs out?

If you don’t hang out where your audience is, why not?

What is the best time or the best times to post for your audience?

Where in the world does most of your audience live? Yes, brick-and-mortars will have a more local audience, of course.

Identify Your Why

Social media isn’t a magic bullet. Social media is very good for branding and recognition, but it probably can’t replace all your forms of marketing. You’ll still want to meet some people in person, go to meet ups, or do other forms of marketing. So if you’re looking for sales, realize that social media does help to generate sales, but usually not immediately.

Engagement

When I co-teach with Alyson Harrold (at UC Berkeley Extension, the students want to know how to engage on social media more than anything else. So I wrote this to help them (and maybe you): How to Engage on Social Media the Complete Guide. And I really like Coschedule, so here’s their 30 Social Media Engagement Tactics That Will Boost Shares And Conversions.

On a scale of 1-10, how much will you focus on engagement this year?

If your engagement was low last year, how will you create more engagement?

Are there any hashtags you could use to create more engagement?

Which hashtags will you use to increase your followers and engagement?

Do you repost from those who follow you?

Do you use the 80/20 rule (80% other people’s content/20% your own content)?

Will you thank people for sharing your posts in order to create more engagement?

Will you tag the people you write about in your posts to help increase engagement?

Will you participate in TweetChats to help your engagement on Twitter?

Could you use a Facebook group to increase your engagement on Facebook?

Content Creation

Content creation has become more important than ever. And if you don’t believe me, how about this post from Hubspot: How to Develop a Content Strategy? I look at the blog as the torso, or body, of your efforts, with all the social media platforms as the arms and legs of your strategy. You might also like: Content creation: 5 Killer Reasons it’s Your New BFF.

Will you be starting a blog this year?

If so, what will you use (WordPress, etc.)?

Will you create a content calendar?

How often will you post?

How long will the posts be?

How many images, if any, will each post have?

Will you have a newsletter?

What will you use to create your newsletter (Mailchimp, etc.)?

How will you get signups for your newsletter?

Will you count posts, tweets, and comments on others’ posts and blogs as part of your content?

Photo by Lisavanovitch

Platforms

By platforms, I mean Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. If you don’t know yet, this might help: Ten Simple Ways to Choose the Best Social Media Platform. The Huffington Post identifies seven best social media channels for business (#7 might surprise you! And no, that’s not clickbait!).

Which social media platforms do you want to be on?

Will you squat on a social media name until you have the time to be there full-time?

How do you propose starting out a new platform?

Which new platforms would you like to research?

Are there any platforms that you definitely don’t want to use?

Which is your favorite social media platform? Why not start there?

Which social platforms will you use less of or spend less time on this year?

Why will you use that/those platforms less?

Which top sites will you focus on this year?

How will you measure your efforts (if at all)?

Video

Why should you use video in your social media? Forbes has a nifty article: Why You Need to Know about Social Video Marketing in 2017. Yes, video is an up-and-coming item to add to the mix. Here’s my first video (with tons of mistakes! so don’t feel intimated about getting started): How to Organize Jewelry.

Will you add video to the mix this year?

If you choose to add video, will you produce it yourself?

What tools will you use to produce your video?

Will you use YouTube this year? Vimeo?

Do you have your own YouTube channel? My friends Chef Ivan Flowers and his wife, Tracy, and now-famous pooch Pickle have a great YouTube channel (go subscribe!).

Will you create unique video on Instagram? Facebook? Twitter?

Will you make money with ads from your YouTube videos?

How will you brand your channel?

How will you create unique calls-to-action?

How will you discover key words to add to each video?

Images/Infographics

Social media posts have become more and more image-centric. So what’s your game plan for including images in your posts and blog articles? Here’s a good article article from Jeff Bulas: 6 Powerful Reasons Why You Should Include Images in Your Marketing (check out the infographic, too!). And you might like this: How to Recycle Content the Ten Best Ways (includes ways to recycle images).

Where will you find images for your social media posts?

Will you be using free images, or will you pay for images?

How many images will you create yourself?

Will you use your own photographs for your social media?

How will you give credit to those who provide images for your posts?

Will you use infographics in your social media mix?

How will you produce great quality infographics?

Will you create your own infographics?

Which social platforms will you use to showcase your images?

Will you use any interactive images? How about gifs?

Keywords and Hashtags

Keywords and hashtags have become more and more important. Keywords help your articles and post get picked up by Google. Hashtags also allow your posts to be seen by Google (thanks for this tip, Robert Nissenbaum!). Here’s a longish post about hashtags you might enjoy: How to Catapult Your Tweets Using Hashtags!

Are there keywords that you use regularly or that you’re trying to dominate?

Are keywords part of your strategy yet?

When you tag your blog posts, are there certain tags that you use over and over?

Will you continue to use the same keywords?

Do you need to research hashtags more before you use them more regularly?

Will you start using hashtags over the next year?

Do you have favorite hashtags that you use all the time?

On which platforms will you use hashtags?

Do you prefer local hashtags or more generic ones for your Instagram posts?

Do you have a way to store and then reuse your hashtags?

Photo by MCAD Library

Measurement

Measurement of your social media efforts can be a tricky thing. You can use branded links, and you can always ask people how they found you, but often social media is one of many marketing “touches.” And people don’t always remember how they found you. You might like this: How to: Business Analytics Tricks You Need to Know for Twitter. And you might like this: Google Analytics Demographics & Generational Insights by my friend Alyson Harrold.

Will you measure your efforts on social media?

If you have a simple measurement system, what is it?

Are there certain items that you won’t measure?

Will you use a branded hashtag to see how far your posts have traveled?

How about branded links? Will you use those?

Do you need help figuring out what to measure?

If you measured your efforts last year, how will this year be different?

How often will you check your analytics?

Will you use Google analytics?

Or will you use each platform’s analytics to measure your success?

Personal Accounts

Some business owners would prefer not to have any presence on social media at all. Many would like to avoid it altogether! Are you one of them? Some would prefer to have one account, rather than separate personal and business accounts (I don’t recommend this approach.)

How much will you post on your personal social media platforms?

Do you plan to post at all on your personal platforms?

Will you post more or less on each platform compared to last year?

How will you guarantee that you unplug or stop surfing the net?

Will your personal accounts be in alignment with your business accounts?

Are there any topics you will avoid posting about?

Will you stop following people/pages who make you unhappy?

Will you focus on vanity metric, such as numbers of followers this year? Or not?

How do you use social media personally, and will that change this year?

How does social media affect your personal life, if at all?

Need Help with Your Social Media?

If all of these questions leave your head spinning, send me an email or comment here! I’d love to help!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: content creation for social media, images for social media, keywords and hashtags on social media, New Year's Resolutions, social media and video, social media audience, social media engagement, social media measurement, social media new years resolutions, social media platforms, social media target audience