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Why Social Media Darwinism is the Most Wonderful Way to Success

April 28, 2016 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Why Social Media Darwinism is the Most Wonderful Way to Success

Like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks, social media Darwinism can be your fastest, craziest, and funnest way to success. If you’d like a quick overview of Darwinism, you might want to check out Natural Selection and Biological Evolution for Dummies. It won’t be as fun as this blog post, but still.

Mistakes, Failures, and Startups

What propels you forward faster than making a bunch of mistakes, and the ensuing embarrassment? Nothing, that’s what! You may have read about how mistakes and failure are important to your brand and your startup, right? If not, here you go: What If Failure Didn’t Exist? Anyway, how can you create something new, and something wonderful if there’s no failure involved?

Mark Zuckerberg’s Mistakes

Even Mark Zuckerberg admits he’s made every mistake you can make. Well, maybe not all the mistakes! I’ve made some of them, so he doesn’t get to claim all of them. His telling employees to “be fast and be bold” could be why Facebook is still thriving now.

Twitter’s Survival

Remember when Twitter proposed losing the 140-character limit? And we all said “C’mon! Don’t do that!”? If you don’t remember, here you go: Will Twitter Dump Its 140-Character Limit? They learned pretty fast through that mistake! Talk about survival of the fittest!

Biomimicry

While social networks may not lend themselves to Darwinism per se, cooperation can help those in the physical world. Cooperative relationships can help organisms with their reach (for example, Mychorrizal fungi form symbiotic relationships with host plants, greatly extending the “reach” of a plant’s roots). Our own tendency towards cooperation can help us with our own reach. And I think that’s pretty neat.

Brian Solis on Digital Darwinism

One of my favorite writers, Brian Solis, has this to say about social darwinism (article from Wired):

“This is a time of digital Darwinism — an era where technology and society are evolving faster than businesses can naturally adapt.”

And Solis adds this:

“But make no mistake. Digital transformation efforts grow market opportunities and profits as well as scaling efficiently in the process.” Plus the hashtag #AdaptOrDie.

By the way, here’s a review of Brian Solis, What’s the Future of Business: Generation C that you might like.

The Speed of Change

As technology races ahead, businesses must learn to adapt. They don’t need to blindly adopt new tech, but need to stay open to new changes coming down the pipeline. Think of Kodak (R.I.P.) or Blockbuster. We thought they were permanent institutions at one time. But now? Not so much.

Are You Practicing Social Media Darwinism?

How so? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Brian Solis, Darwinism, failure, Mistakes, Social Media, social media darwinism, Startup

How to Recycle Content the 10 Best Ways

April 7, 2016 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

How to Recycle Content the 10 Best Ways

Since it’s almost Earth Day, it’s a good time to talk about recycling your content on social media. It’s also a very good time to prevent your brain from exploding. Recycling your content, as it turns out, is a very good way to prevent your brain from exploding. If you need other reasons to keep your brain from exploding, you might want to read: Content Curation: 5 Killer Reasons It’s Your New BFF.

Photo by Caden Crawford

Start with Your Blog

Your blog is like the torso of your efforts. Everything starts there. The “limbs” are the different social platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. You may be a starfish, with five arms, or an octopus with eight limbs. Or maybe you’re a mollusk, with only one leg. But I digress. Create your content on your blog, with plenty of nice, fat keywords.

Recycling Tip: Go back to your older blog posts and see which can be rewritten. A slightly different slant can give new life to an old post!

Tweet Your Post

Not only should you tweet your blog post, but if you’ve done your homework and gotten some social capital, ask for people to retweet. “Please retweet!” you might say. And then pin that tweet to the top of your Twitter feed so anyone coming there can see it. If you don’t have social capital, this is an excellent post on Reciprocation from my bud Bridget Willard.

Recycling Tip: Retweet your own tweet later. That’s right. When the initial excitement of that tweet is over, retweet your own post again. You could use a different headline and a different image. Or not. Up to you. Guy Kawasaki repeats his posts, and here’s Guy’s strategy.

Photo by tian2992

Pin on Pinterest

You do have a blog board on Pinterest, don’t you? If you don’t, make one right away! And then pin your blog post there. You might also want to join a group board so that you can pin your wonderful writing there, too. Here’s how to join a group board.

Recycling Tip: If your pin doesn’t get repinned the first time, pin it at a different time and delete the first pin. Make sure you’ve added your key words to the description. You could also add it to a different board, at a different time.

Photo by Moyan_Brenn

Facebook

Facebook is a little trickier, unless you post a lot every day.

Recycling Tip: Use #TBT (Throwback Thursday) or ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) to repeat old posts. And add some different text, for heaven’s sake!

Email Marketing

Remember that blog post? Take pieces of it and put it into your email newsletter. Maybe use a different image, from further down in the post, and add a sentence or two.

Instagram

Instagram has been taking off the last couple of years, with more people using it.

Recycling Tip: Regram your own posts, and change up the hashtags. Of course, recycle the hashtags, too!

Photo by Moyan_Brenn

Google Plus

There’s some disagreement as to whether Google Plus is still relevant. Many Social Media Managers think that it isn’t. Most agree that it’s a ghost town, and that posting there helps with SEO.

Photo by jenny downing

YouTube

Videos are one of the best ways to get attention from your audience. Short videos, in particular work very well on social.

Recycling Tip: Chop up your video and reuse it in different ways. You could take a one-minute video and create three or four shorter videos.

Photo by CityscapeGUY

LinkedIn is often described as the “sleeping giant” of social media.

Recycling Tip: Share one of your favorite posts in a LinkedIn group at a different time.

Recycle Your Images

If you’ve created terrific images, you could recycle them. For instance, you could make a calendar from Instagram photos. Or Create magnets from Pinterest images.

Recycling Tip: Use this link, which friend Kittie Walker shared on Twitter (follow her on Twitter ~ @avidmode), to recycle your images from Instagram.

Photo by E. D’Ascoli Photographies

How Do You Recycle?

Do you recycle? How?

Photo by Moyan_Brenn

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: email marketing, Google Plus, Instagram, LinkedIn, newsletter, pin your tweet, Pinterest, reciprocation, recycling, social capital, Social Media, tweet, Twitter, YouTube

Content Curation: 5 Killer Reasons It’s Your New BFF

March 31, 2016 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Content Curation: 5 Killer Reasons It’s Your New BFF

“Find good stuff and share it” is the way content curation works. Whether you as a curator are on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Pinterest, people want to see the best articles chosen for them. Very few people have hundreds of hours to scour the web looking for the gold nuggets. But why is content curation your BFF, you may wonder?

Fewer Brain Explosions!

Your brain can pay attention to maybe four things at once. A friend of mine recently said that if you’re driving you can pay attention to what’s in front of you, in back of you, and to either side. If one more item is added, say texting, then it’s overload. Information overload works the same way. Content curation helps your audience because you filter the good stuff for them, and then hand it to them on a pretty plate. Here’s how to handle information overload (TIP: Skip to the list!).

Builds Trust

People will come to rely on your content, so ensure that you stay on target and be true to what you’ll share. So if your social media profile says you are a restaurant, people would probably expect to see fabulous images of food. Probably. And maybe content from parallel industries as well, such as pubs and wineries. Of course, you can also create your own content. Here’s an article on Content Creation: Like Hosting Out-of-Town Guests, that you might like.

Photo by Grayskullduggery

Creates Community

Posting about a particular subject draws in like-minded people. How often have you yourself, as a content curator, been impressed or tickled by a content on someone else’s post? Content curation, done the right way, gives you that sense of community that we’re sometimes lacking.

Opens the Imagination

The best Facebook page or Pinterest board unlocks your imagination. Sometimes you get a lot more than you expected, when you go to a beautifully curated account. Sometimes you think “I could make that outdoor sofa set from old pallets” or “that Grand Marnier Soufflé looks entirely do-able!” Here’s a post about Pinterest Influencers: Curating Pins that you might like.

Positions You As a Thought Leader

If you have original ideas, then curating content can make you a leader. People will come to you first when they want an answer about your area of expertise. When you add context to a news article, for example, you reframe an already-existing viewpoint. And who doesn’t want to be a thought leader?

Secret Sixth Reason

Here’s the reason many of you curate content: It’s your passion. And you want engaged followers. Don’t you?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: building community, Content, curation, information overload, Social Media, thought leader

The Surprising Importance of the Offline Meeting

March 17, 2016 By Carol Stephen 16 Comments

The Surprising Importance of the Offline Meeting

People crave connections. While those connections may begin with an online conversation on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, the best connections morph into face-to-face meetings. People sometimes then move back online, and stay in touch for years, meeting online and offline over months and years. But the offline meeting is what forges the connection.

Photo by vramak

Brainstorming, Laughing, and Whispering

Brainstorming often occurs best in offline meetings, where people are talking, interrupting, laughing, whispering, and in general having a good time. Social media can provide a strong introduction–and you can feel as though you know someone you’ve met online. But you won’t truly know them as well until you meet them offline. For instance, someone you thought was the biggest extrovert IN THE WORLD could suddenly turn into an introvert. Has that happened to you?

Photo by milesmilob

Technology Can Only Go So Far

Although we have wonderful technology to bridge the distances between colleagues, Google Hangouts, Skype, and Blab sessions can’t replace the face-to-face meeting, where we can see people roll their eyes, tap their fingers in frustration, or stifle a smile. And many entrepreneurs may dislike online meetings, especially Baby Boomers. By the way, here’s my post about Baby Boomers and Social Media.

Photo by kevin dooley

Real-Life Meetings Drive Business

In an article from Entrepreneur, 3 Benefits of Meeting Face to Face, Katherine Duncan mentions that Simone uses a personal approach because it’s about “how you make them feel.” You’d never know without meeting in person that a serious person could be the class clown. Or that the class clown online is deadly serious offline. For me, meeting in person has led to more solid connections, and more business.

Photo by jeanbaptisteparis

Body Language

How a person stands, sprawls on a chair, or crosses their arms say a lot about what they’re thinking. None of that comes through online. In this article about The Surprising Power of Body Language, Ronald Riggio writes about how power poses and eye gazes can cause a shift in power. We all know someone whose body language is intimidating. And we all know that person who shrinks when you meet them in person. That first meeting in person is always a surprise.

Photo by PeterTea

Get Off Your Phone

Instinctively, we know that meeting in person helps build trust, although being connected to a smart (or dumb!) phone doesn’t. It’s similar to receiving a handwritten card in the mail–something unexpected and unusual, and a good way to stand out. Not to mention when you’re in person you can show off your good manners.

Face to Face Still Matters

One story stands out to me, and that’s the day a year ago that I met some online friends at WordCamp San Diego. Bridget Willard (You Too Can Be a Guru), my bestie, was going to see Heather Steele of Blue Steele Solutions, since Heather was speaking, so we all decided to meet up. Then we also got to meet Frank and Adam (also of Blue Steele Solutions). We all still talk about that meeting and the long dinner we had with Tracy Phillips and Chef Ivan Flowers. Even though it was a year ago, we all remember that day. Could a tweet go that far? Or a Google Hangout? I don’t think so.

Photo by reggiepen

Your Turn

Who have you met and how did that meeting surprise you?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: face to face meeting, Facebook, marketing, offline meeting, Social Media, Twitter

Creating Ritual for Social Media Transitions: Confessions

February 25, 2016 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Creating Ritual for Social Media Transitions: Confessions

You might have read my last post: Ten Social Media Transitions and How to Use Them. That post brought up another issue, that of how to create rituals for surviving those transitions.

Everyone Processes Differently

It’s a cliche to say that everyone is different. But everyone processes their emotions differently. To some people, it’s like water off a duck’s back. They’re all: “Next!” Others may need to wear a sackcloth and mope around for quite a few days (that would be me).

It’s easy to say that you should just “get over it.” But, really, how do you?

Balinese Rituals

While thinking about this topic, my mind wandered back to a trip I took to Bali. The Balinese have numerous ways of celebrating, creating offerings, and making rituals out of every day events. They seem to have a ritual for nearly every event. If you wander around for awhile, and come back to your hotel room, you may find flowers in your shoes.

What if we had as many rituals for the transitions and events that face us in the digital world?

Photo by A.Cahlenstein Photography

New Job Responsibilities

For instance, if you suddenly had to take on a new platform, you’d know exactly what to do. There would be a ritual for it, that would involve Pinot Noir, chocolate, and a hike with your two best friends to a favorite bench in a park. Once there, you’d have a basket filled with the proper words that you’d speak, before you burnt and buried them. The words, that is.

Photo by Roshan Vyas

Ditching Trolls

Much like beating Bowser, ditching a troll takes a lot of effort and multiple tries. Eventually, fire will rain down and Princess Toadstool will be saved. In our digital lives, there are trolls, there is spam, and there are hurdles of every variety to overcome. By the way, here are instructions for beating Bowser.

Photo by ♫Ali

ISO: The Gamification Handbook

Not only do our online lives need to be gamified more, we need a way to quickly process our emotions. Creating a point system could definitely be the way to go. Maybe even a handbook for social media managers with all the tricks of getting through the tough times, as well as ways to celebrate the good times. Here’s my article on the gamification of social media, in case you missed it.

Photo by AwesomeSA

Handling Victory

If loss creates stress, success also creates stress. You’ve just gained 20,000 followers on your business account. What do you do? Do you announce it? Does anyone care except for you? Maybe not. But a small celebration couldn’t hurt, could it?

Photo by oztenphoto

What Rituals Do You Have?

I’m really curious about this. We spend more and more of our time online. The line between online and offline isn’t as distinct as it once was. Have you created any rituals? What are they? Please leave me a comment!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Bali, digital, rituals, Social Media, transitions

10 Social Media Transitions and How to Use Them

February 18, 2016 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

10 Social Media Transitions and How to Exploit Them

10 Social Media Transitions and How to Use Them

Transitions, those edges around your social media accounts and jobs, can get messy and weird. Many people don’t plan for transitions. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t think about them! Here are some thoughts on the transitions that I’ve witnessed within social media.

When Friends Shuffle Off This Mortal Coil

This has happened to me a couple of times. One friend used to send me links to country-western songs every morning. We had never met. And it was quite sad. I never had the usual closure you get when someone you’ve met goes to that great tweetchat in the sky. There was no memorial service to attend. Just a message posted by his family that he had moved on. Talking to a mutual friend or writing about it (see below) may help to ease the pain.

When Looking for Another Position

You probably don’t want to check in on Foursquare when you’re out looking for another job. Also: ixNay on the acebookFay. That is, don’t make friends with your soon-to-be coworkers all over the place and start chatting with them before you even get to that cool new position. Here’s where the word S.E.C.R.E.T comes in: it’s ok to write their names on a Cootie catcher, but don’t get their name tattooed anywhere just yet.

When You Leave Social Media Accounts Behind

Naturally, the company where you worked owns all the accounts you created. Even if it was a lot of work, they own all digital assets unless you’ve made other arrangement. You may be able to maintain friendships with some of those you’ve met, though, if you reconnect with people through your new accounts, once you’ve left the old ones behind.

How to Say Good-Bye to Online Friends

Even a simple plan can really help when getting ready to leave. Yes, it’s difficult. Even if you’ve never met most of your followers in person, you can get attached when you spend all day online and share each other’s ideas. I really like this post about updating your title across all your social media all at once, from The Muse. After you’ve expressed your gratitude about all you’ve learned from your soon-to-be previous team, and let that news sink in for a few days, it’s time to make that announcement that you’re leaving.

For Any Occasion: Writing as Ritual

For me, since I’m a writer (or pretend to be one on T.V.), writing helps a lot. Writing a letter to someone saying good-bye, and stating what their friendship meant, helps to move through the emotions since there is no formal ritual. If there’s anger involved in your decision, writing helps there, too. Writing an angry letter that’s never sent, then rewriting it, helps to displace the anger. Did you know there’s a journaling tool called the unsent letter? Yup!

When Alliances Change

For those of us who freelance, gigs can change suddenly. A client might decide to go in another direction or retire. In any case, you may want to let others know what’s going on with you and that company if your friends have followed you on that journey. People aren’t always in sync with what you do, though. Don’t expect your friends to drop that company like a hot potato if they’ve taken a liking to the place you work.

The Internal Transition: Passing a Milestone

Do you celebrate when you pass a milestone? However phony the idea of a milestone is (especially if it’s a “vanity metric”), many milestones mean more engagement on social media. For instance, when you pass that 1,000 follower mark on Twitter, you will have more engagement, at least if you’re doing social right. If you’re freelancing for someone, you may decide to raise your prices if the number of engagements goes up dramatically. Here’s a piece I wrote about my 100th blog post, and what I learned.

When You Move a Community

When I ran a chat and moved it to a new chat, #DigiBlogChat, that took a bit of doing. That is to say, some moved with me and stayed on, and others were left behind. We all need and want more community, and having one online can help to replace those in-person ones we’ve lost along the way. #DigiBlogChat is the highlight of my week, and one where many of my virtual friends reside. By the way, here’s my crazy long list of Twitter Chats: 101 Tips For Success.

When Do You Train a Replacement

Hopefully, the company or startup where you work already has a set of guidelines in place. That said, there may be some words of wisdom that you could impart to your replacement if the parting of ways was amicable. In a perfect world, we’d all leave on good terms, but that isn’t always the case.

Exit Strategies

As far as saying the final farewell, it could be a good idea to let a trusted friend know what you’d like to do with your social media accounts when you go to that Facebook group in the sky. Some people even go so far as to write their final tweet while they still can. Have you done anything about this? For me, letting my lawyer know my final wishes was a great relief.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: death, Facebook, goodbye, hello, leaving, new job, Social Media, transitions, Twitter

Automation and Social Media: You Need to Know How to Balance

February 11, 2016 By Carol Stephen 7 Comments

Automation and Social Media: You Need to Know How to Balance

Finding that sweet spot between live interaction and posts can be a tricky business. Some people like to automate everything, and others are purists about live posting. A hybrid approach can save you time and energy, but what is the best ratio of automated to live posts? And how often can you post before your audience starts to roll their eyes and unfollow you? Here’s a look behind the curtain, so you can choose what you want to do.

By the way, you may have missed this post about social media automation.

Being Informative vs Being Annoying

Hardly anyone sets out to be annoying, but sometimes there’s a fine line. Being top of mind is what we’re all aiming for. In an interesting article from Buffer about social media frequency, author Kevan Lee suggests posting 14 times a day on Twitter, or about once per hour. Of course, there’s another ratio to consider: how often to post about yourself. Could you post about your own brand once in five or once in ten times?

Scheduling Tweets

Twitter: Live Engagement & Automation

For Twitter, I started with scheduling nothing, then went to scheduling 10 tweets daily, then 5 scheduled tweets, and now 0. When an interesting topic comes up, it goes into my scheduler so it appears at an optimal time. Besides that and the Tweet Old Posts plugin (every 4 hours), the rest is live engagement. The result has been that my follower count has gone up. My ratio of automated to live tweeting is about 1:3 or 1:4. By the way, here’s an article about why not to buy followers and who has the most fake Twitter followers.

Facebook Analytics

Facebook: Optimizing Through Analytics

Do not believe those articles and infographics about the best times to post. Check your Facebook analytics to find your best times and frequency. Unless you bought followers, you should be able to see when your fans are online. I find the best engagement before 9 am and up to 3 pm. It’s important to use a big picture. Some people like to tag others, but I find those posts annoying. For Facebook, I post about once daily. Hubspot has an interesting article about how often you should post on Facebook. As far as automation goes, I’d recommend it and especially if your audience is up early, for instance, and you’re not. Again, check your analytics.

Pinterest Scheduling

For Pinterest, since about half of all users are in the United States, you might want to limit your pinning to those times when your audience is online. I’ve been pinning roughly 8 times a day: 4 times live pinning and four scheduled pins. The scheduled pins are from my own blog, and go out between 5:30 to about 8 pm. The others go out usually all at once.

What Works for You?

Do you schedule? How much? Leave me a comment! I’d really like to know!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: automation, balance, celebrities, Facebook, Pinterest, POTUS, Social Media, Steph Curry, Twitter

Social Media Managers: 10 Secrets to Care for Yours

January 28, 2016 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Social Media Managers: 10 Secrets to Care for Yours

My friend Amy Donohue recently said it sucks that companies don’t see the value of professional social media. That definitely rings true! Although there is no ideal world, here are some real-world examples of positives and negatives.

For the purposes of this post, there are two different clients: Client A is grateful, sweet, and full of compliments. Client Z is, well, the exact opposite. By the way, you might like this other post, Why It’s Easier to Be Darth Vader Than a Social Media Manager.

Cheerfulness

If you need to send an email to your SMM, a cheerful message goes much farther than a grumpy one.

Client A: Hello, how are you today?
Client Z: Did you get that work done yet?

You Can Catch More Social Media Managers with Honey Than Vinegar!

Sweetness

You can catch more social media managers with honey than with vinegar! Does this even require examples? Sigh. Here’s the wiki on how to be sweet, by the way.

Apologize

If you screw up, say so. And I will do the same. See “Be honest.”

Give Us the Benefit of the Doubt

The Benefit of the Doubt

We really do want the best for you and your business. So please give us the benefit of the doubt. After all, if you win, we win. We would not try to hurt your business because that would be like cutting off our nose to spite our face.

Gratitude

Are you complimenting your SMM? Even a small pat on the back, such as “Great job!” “loved the image you chose for that post!” can spark your SMM to do more and better work! You’d like that, right?

Client A: I’m so grateful to you for setting us up with a righteous look across all SM platforms; thank you-thank you for making us hot!
Client Z: Nothing.

Honesty Goes a Long Way

Honesty

Recently, two clients did not pay on time. Most SMMs won’t be happy about this. Here’s how to handle it if this ever happens to you as a business owner. Be honest and tell us when to expect payment. And then follow through.

Client A: “I’m soo sorry for the delay!” Checks will go out on the 15th. (They did.)
Client Z: “It’s been so hectic around here…Court costs for $xxx are going to be a waste of money so just hang in there a few more days…”

Honor the Relationship

If the relationship is the most important thing, then treat your SMM like a human being. Tell the truth. Focus on the positive. Rinse and repeat.

Respect

This goes along with relationship. The Golden Rule applies! Not just treat others as you’d want to be treated, but treat others the way you want to be treated. Calum Curry wrote a great post: Always Respect Your Social Media Manager.

You Are One of Our Clients

We’d love to work on your account all day long and not sleep, but we do need sleep. We can’t always get back to you within 10 minutes as we are in meetings, doing research, and writing blog posts.

It’s Just Us

Often, we are solopreneurs (sole entrepreneurs), without a huge agency behind us. Though we know how to look big online, we don’t have an army standing behind us. That’s how we can customize your images, your posts, your tweets, etc. Not to be dramatic, but a stinging comment or late payments can really hurt.

Family

This one is a bonus, and goes along with relationship building. telling the truth and giving compliments. Although we don’t expect you to invite us over for Thanksgiving dinner, a little warmth and consideration is greatly appreciated.

What’s Your Gripe?

Are you a social media manager or consultant? How do you like to be treated? Or, if you’re on the other side and work with a consultant, what’s that like? Leave me a comment! And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: SMM, Social Media, social media manager, value

How to Resist Change: Confessions from a Curmudgeon

January 14, 2016 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

How to Resist Change: Confessions of a Curmudgeon

When I was a kid, I looked up to celebrities. There was something magical about their hair, their makeup, and their clothes. I remember being alone, dancing in my room to David Bowie. Sometimes, I would grab a hairbrush (for a mic) and sing along with the Rolling Stones. Sam, our cat, was a willing audience to these outbursts of song and dance. Imagine my dismay when the Beatles broke up. I still can’t believe it’s over!

Breaking Up is Hard to Watch

Miss Piggy and Kermit split up this past year, which was difficult to watch even though they are muppets. What happened to their love? And their ridiculously cute squabbling? Maybe it was never an act at all. And what about Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner? Is nothing sacred? Well, Batman is sacred, but that’s another story, Ben Affleck!

Change is Intolerable!

When change happens, we should pull the blankets over our heads and go back to sleep. Like the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand, we can ignore changes and pretend they didn’t happen. It’s easy, right? Sure! So long as you don’t read your friends’ Facebook posts, or see anything trending on Twitter!

Get Off My Lawn!

Even though I don’t have a lawn, I’d like to get one just so I could yell that at kids. They don’t belong on my non-existent lawn! Not that there are tons of kids running around where the lawn would be, still it’s troubling to think that they could be. What were they thinking, those imaginary kids?

Ads, Throttling, and Spam

Facebook is doing more targeted ads and throttling who sees posts. Is that right? No! They should’ve kept it the way it was, where people could see everything. Not only that, but Facebook is terrible for you, says Salon. Twitter has become less about engagement and more about spewing ads. Again, it was way better before. Pinterest now has ads, too, whereas in the beginning it was only about pinning interesting pictures of kittens and flowers.

Deny Everything

One thing you can do to avoid change is to deny it exists. The earth is still flat, Elvis lives, and you don’t have to update that software. Then again, if you procrastinate long enough, you might not have to think about it at all.

Coping with Change

Of course, you could learn to cope with change, as this excellent article by Adam Dachis explains. But if you did that, you wouldn’t be able to gripe about it, would you?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: change, Facebook, Pinterest, Social Media, Twitter

The Magic of Media: Joy in the New Year

December 31, 2015 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

The Magic of Media: Joy in the New Year

When the clock hits midnight on the last day of the year, enthusiasm is at its highest. Hope is in the air. Anticipation and excitement fill the streets and the champagne glasses overflow. This hope and enthusiasm fuel social media resolutions.

Happy Happy, Joy Joy

Everyone will tell you how easy it is to master social media. You can learn Pinterest in a weekend, take a seminar on Twitter, or watch YouTube videos on Facebook until the cows come home. And it’s that time of year when everyone wants to start their resolutions. Heck, you can certainly do your Social Media in 60 Minutes a Day if you really try. There are lots of reasons to be excited about this new year, with a few caveats.

RockStar Expectations

I’m not going to be a Debbie Downer and tell you that you’ll never be a rockstar, but be a little easy on yourself and set your expectations accordingly. Getting 1,000 followers a month sounds good on January 1, but by March you might give up and do nothing at all.

Startup Mentality and S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Having lofty goals is often a by-product of startups. Having S.M.A.R.T. goals, which equals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Responsible and Time (completion date) enables you to reach those goals. As Allan Hirsch explains “we need to set goals using strategic planning” in his article As New Year approaches, don’t just set goals, set ‘SMART’ goals.

Out of the Ballpark

If you’re an entrepreneur, you want to hit grand slams. And the way to achieve that is to set yourself up for success by overdelivering. Test the waters with your social media before committing to something so huge that you’ll feel overwhelmed.

Stretch Goals

Stretch goals are demotivating. To my mind, they are more about reaching a monetary goal than about reaching smaller goals while having fun and being creative. In his excellent article, The Folly of Stretch Goals, Daniel Markovitch outlines how stretch goals sap intrinsic motivation.

Going Viral

There are ways to make that post or tweet go viral. That is, you can be poised for the opportunity but it usually happens when you least expect it. What is that saying–success is the intersection of preparation and opportunity. And if you’re successfully poised, that post may spread like a virus in ways that make you look good.

Be Open to Surprises

What I’d like for myself for this new year is to be open to the fun and excitement of social media. Every day, it’s possible to talk to real people online, connect with them, and perhaps meet them in real life. And although that’s tough to put into a resolution, being open to surprises is my new year’s resolution.

What’s Your Resolution?

Tell me in the comments!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: going viral, New Year's Resolutions, SMART goals, Social Media, Startup, Startups