Social Media: Time Management for Busy Entrepreneurs

September 2, 2014 By Carol Stephen 10 Comments

Social Media: Time Management for Busy Entrepreneurs

One of the top ten questions (maybe top five questions) I get from entrepreneurs is “How do I make time for social media?” You’re busy running your business–making your widgets, preparing for your next class, or creating a new menu. How the heck do you have time for social media on top of everything else? I’m not going to say it’s magic, because it’s certainly work, but there are some ways to minimize the work and maximize your efforts. After all, you want to keep some balance in your daily life, right?

Create a Daily Strategy

Before you ever open Twitter, set foot on Pinterest, or enter the halls of Facebook, make sure you know what you’re going to do. One thing I do as a daily strategy is spend fourteen minutes planning each day. Writing everything down with an old-school pen or pencil on paper is the most helpful for me. After the brain dump, I go back and prioritize everything. Do this before everything else, and I promise your day will be much smoother.

Decide Which Platform Will Be Your Starting Point

For me, I usually start on Twitter, but your starting point might be different. Click on notifications, and see who’s mentioned, retweeted, or tagged you. Then I go to Facebook, post something, engage with people for a bit, then head over to Pinterest. Of course, your social media posts and engagement have to fit in between all your other work.

See How Much Time You Have

If you only have an hour, total, for social media, divide that hour up accordingly. So maybe 20 minutes for each of three platforms for the day. Use a timer–I like an old-school egg timer because the ticking sound keeps me on track, but you could use the timer on your smart phone, too. If you don’t like the one you have, here’s a good article from the New York Times about timers. It’s amazing how much you can get done when you know you only have 15 or 20 minutes.

Engage, but Don’t Dive Down Any Rabbit Holes

By this, I mean, don’t get distracted by “Top Ten Best Mojito Recipes for a Rainy Day” or that DIY article on how to turn a pallet into an actual working car that you see on Pinterest. Because the road to social media hell is definitely paved with pallets and mason jars. Be especially vigilant of “friendly fire.” That is, friends posting pretty videos of cats being rescued by dogs. A little personal stuff is fine, but don’t spend hours watching those videos. You know the drill.

When You’re Done, Get Out!

Social Media Time Management

Here’s the important part. When the clock rings or beeps, get out. You don’t have to respond in depth to everyone who writes to you. Sometimes a one-word answer is fine. Thank people who retweeted you, say something quickly, and then move on. That clock is still ticking! Leave some time in your day so you can take a hike or go for a walk.

Is Your Social Media Overwhelming?

Hire somebody to help! You might want to read about the top ten questions to ask a Social Media Manager. And of course (ahem!) I know someone who might be able to help you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Engagement, entrepreneurs, Facebook, Pinterest, Social Media, time management, Twitter, work life balance

TweetChats: How to Participate

August 5, 2014 By Carol Stephen 10 Comments

TweetChats: How to Participate

Getting the Most from a TweetChat

You’ve been invited to a tweetchat and, full of enthusiasm, you say yes without fully realizing what you’ve committed yourself to. After all, how difficult could it be, right? Actually, this is one of those times when you can do a Happy Twitter Dance because TweetChats are fun and easy to learn! You can easily participate in a TweetChat, with the help of a few tools (not necessarily a Weedwacker). As my ol’ granpappy used to say “Never bring more than one Weedwacker to a TweetChat. But I digress.

Each TweetChat Has Its Own Hashtag

For instance #DogFriendlyChat or my friend Amy Donohue’s #KidneyChat. Hashtags help to organize chats. If you need to know how not to use hashtags, here you go!

The Day or Week Before the Chat

A chat’s creator will often create and post questions so that you can prepare for that chat. For instance, Bridget Willard holds #ConstChat for Riggins Construction, and tells people the questions ahead of time. In last week’s #ConstChat, we chatted about insulation. This gave everyone lots of time to study the questions about insulation and prepare ahead of time if they wanted to. Bridget has created a really neat Tagboard for #ConstChat.

Prepare Ahead…or Not!

You can prepare answers to the questions ahead of time and for extra super-duper bonus points, you can even put your answers into a file which you can then cut and paste during the chat itself. But for the most fun during a chat, why not be spontaneous and interact with the others in the chat? When it’s your first chat, or maybe any time, maybe it’s fun to just be spontaneous.

Whether you decide to be spontaneous or prepare ahead of time, so long as you follow some basic etiquette, you’ll be fine. Don’t talk about the heartbreak of psoriasis, unless you’re on #PsoriasisChat, for instance.

Five Minutes Before a TweetChat

Log into TweetChat.com using your Twitter account. Get a cup of coffee or water, and take a deep breath. TweetChat.com automagically adds in the hashtag for you, so you don’t have to think about. It aggregates all the tweets with the hashtag for you, making the chat extra easy. Another benefit is that you can slow down the stream using TweetChat.com. It’s really a great tool. There are other third-party apps to help you, but TweetChat has been the most reliable for me.

During the Chat

The most important tools you’ll need during a TweetChat are your ears and eyes. Watch what everyone else is saying and have a discussion, be engaging, be funny, or entertaining. Everyone will have a much better time if you’re not too serious. Retweet others, have fun, and talk to everyone.

Follow Others

Follow Others After a TweetChat

One of the biggest benefits of being in a TweetChat is to gain high-quality followers. So join TweetChats that are important to you as a brand and that will help you grow your business. If you have a new interest or your business is growing, seek out a TweetChat related to your new interests. You’ll meet other like-minded people to follow and connect with.

After the Chat

I like to add people to a list if the chat is one I regularly attend. For instance, Larry Mount (@LazBlazter) and me will be starting #DigiBlogChat today, Tuesday August 5th at 1:00 pm pdt. So I’ll start a list called DigiBlogChat within Twitter. You can read my previous post about how to use Twitter lists (for the power user). You can create a list even if you’re a participant. Or, subscribe to someone else’s list (why reinvent the wheel?).

Keep track of those you’ve met virtually in the chat through your own or others’ lists. Engage with them, retweet them, and check up on them regularly.

Please Participate in #DigiBlogChat!

Please drop in some Tuesday and visit! It will be loads of fun!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: DigiBlogChat, Follow, Following, follwers, hashtag, Tweetchat, Twitter

Transform Your Brilliant Content: Ten Ways to Recycle Content

July 31, 2014 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Transform Your Brilliant Content

Ten Ways to Recycle Content

Ever had a great idea that you weren’t sure how to share without making all your friends crazy? Sure you have! You have one of those right now…sitting in your back pocket. That idea for a Portable Solar Dog Grooming Truck, for instance, needs to be seen. Or that website for cats who take selfies (you even bought the CatsWhoTakeSelfies.com domain and a GoPro!) just begs to be released unto the world. But how?

Blog

Your website is the basis of all great ideas. This is where the ideas live. Use your blog to expand your brilliant idea, adding pictures, drawings, and video, if possible (more about video below). Once you’ve written about your idea, you can begin to spin it into other formats. This is where the fun begins!

Twitter

Yes, you’ll need to tweet about your great idea. Take different snippets, add different pictures, and voila! A blogpost of a few hundred words can become many tweets. Don’t forget to pin your newest post to the top of your Twitter feed, along with an image. Twitter has become more and more image-centric, so take advantage.

Speaking of images, you can pin your blog post to your blog board (here’s my blog board, by the way). Include search terms so that people looking for your topic can find it. Anything with cats and selfies, or cute, wet dogs has to be on Pinterest. Unless it already is!

Facebook

Maybe only 3 or 4 people will see it on Facebook unless you promote it, but still. You have to put it there. And the more you post and interact on Facebook, the better the chances that your content will be found.

Create a more scholarly headline to get people to click on that link. I like this example of good LinkedIn headlines, from LinkedIn Makeover.

YouTube

Why not create a video of your blog post and put it up on YouTube? YouTube is absolutely wonderful, especially if you have a how-to video that needs to be seen.

Instagram

Pictures of cute dogs and cats! Who could resist? Hashtag it like crazy. That’s how people find you on Instagram, and everyone seems to hashtag everything shamelessly.

Solid Gold

When your content gets a little old, you can bring it back to life. You can rewrite an older blog piece by changing about one-third of it and adding pictures. If you’ve been blogging for a year or two, this is a good way to reuse content.

Create an eBook

Once you have a few posts, you can bundle a few and create an eBook. For instance, you could take your solar idea and bundle that with some other posts you’ve written for a book about portable solar.

Make a Slideshare

If you’re good with images, you could make a PowerPoint that you share with your friends on social media. This could go on all channels, and in this new format, many people might relate to it more. Or you could find someone who could do it for you.

Podcast

Many people are audible learners, and prefer learning by listening. Or they’d love to listen to you speak your idea. You can have someone transcribe your Hangout on Air or blog post and then use the podcasts for still another purpose.

How Do You Recycle Content?

Each time you switch mediums you’ll come up with some new ideas, which will appeal to a different audience. Some people love video, some like to listen, and some want to scroll quickly through images. What’s your favorite way to recycle?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Facebook, how to, Instagram, LinkedIn, Recycle content, Social Media, Twitter, Women in Business Today, YouTube

Social Media Managers: Top Ten Questions to Ask When You’re Looking for One

July 23, 2014 By Carol Stephen 9 Comments

Social Media Managers: Top Ten Questions to Ask When You’re Looking for One

Your startup has finally gotten some funding and you know that you have to find a social media manager (“SMM”). Where do you start? You could ask a few friends, or you could look on the Internet, but how do you make sure that you’re getting good value? Here are some questions that I wish people would ask me!

What is Your Philosophy About Engagement Online?

This question is designed to weed out the “post-and-go” people. Some social media managers are more in the “broadcasting camp.” That is, they’ll find the most efficient ways of blasting out your message without thinking about your audience. And that’s not very social, is it?

Who Answers Questions or Comments on Social Platforms?

Some SMMs expect you, the client, to do that. It’s good to have a strategy in mind before you need one. Will they call you when clients ask questions on your social media platforms? Will they text you? Will they answer any questions? How much knowledge do they have about your field or product?

Do You Have a Favorite Platform?

These days, many SMMs specialize in a particular platform. They might be great with Pinterest, or use Twitter, but dislike Facebook and Instagram. So ask if that SMM has a favorite to see if they might have a strength.

What’s Your Least Favorite Platform?

Top Ten Questions to Ask Social Media Managers

If the SMM says they “love all of them” that’s kind of like a waiter saying “all the food is great.” Maybe it’s true that they love all platforms, but the “least favorite” question could get you the answer you’re looking for. Nobody likes to say they have a “weakness.”

How Do You Work with Your Clients?

Some SMMs like to do everything with no input from their clients. Others like daily, weekly, or monthly input. Some expect to meet in person and others won’t ever want to meet in person. Find out what the expectations are.

What Topics Do You Suggest That We Avoid?

For starters, I usually suggest avoiding politics, religion, and sex. But if your startup has a dating app, you will want to talk about sex. So make sure that you’re on the same page with the SMM that you decide to hire.

What If There’s a National Emergency?

Companies of all sizes, including startups, get in trouble when there’s an emergency, such as a school shooting, and the SMM doesn’t know what to do. Make sure that everyone knows what to do. I suggest posting something sympathetic–if anything at all–and then going silent. Nobody cares about whatever you’re selling when there’s an emergency.

What Happens on Weekends and Holidays?

Some brands stop posting on weekends and holidays. Others post even more. Your business might be a seasonal one. Let your candidate know what you would like.

What Does Success Look Like?

To be successful, your social media strategy needs to be specific enough so that you can measure it (such as a minimum number of daily posts), but not so specific that it squashes all the motivation out of your SMM. Learn how to demotivate employees in my previous blogpost.

Questions?

Are you an ambitious startup looking for a social media manager? Because I know someone (*ahem*) that you might like to talk to!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: ambition, ambitious, Facebook, Instagram, Manager, Pinterest, Platform, questions, Social Media, social media manager, success, Twitter

When Social Media Hands You Lemons…Make Jam!

July 9, 2014 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

When Life Hands You Lemons…Make Jam!

We’ve all had those weeks when nothing goes right. Maybe it’s because Mercury is in retrograde. Maybe it’s someone having a bad day and taking it out on you. Maybe it’s none of the above. For some reason, you get lemons.

Staying Positive Feels Impossible Sometimes

Sometimes, being positive and upbeat can be nearly impossible. Every post on social media gets little engagement. Your Twitter feed gets hit by spammers, and Pinterest is deader than a DIY coffin made out of Mason jars and upcycled pallets. Whatever. You still have to be positive because that’s the kind of person you are–even if you do feel demotivated.

Turn Away from Social Media

Turning away from social media and doing something completely different for a day or two (or three) is just what the doctor ordered at times like that. For instance, making jam. You can always force it into a blog post later (ahem!). And besides, it’s July and there are beautiful Blenheim apricots. And also: when you’re done, you get jam.

Detour from social media for a few minutes…

It’s not a complete detour, though. To tell the truth, I found this great apricot jam recipe on Pinterest (where else?). It has no pectin, and only three ingredients (the results are pictured above). You’ll have fun making it, and you could even share it with friends that you met online, if you figure out a way to get it to them.

Then you could post a picture of them eating it on Instagram. All your other friends would be jealous. But nobody posts food pictures on Instagram, right?

Nature Can Keep Your Thoughts Positive

Hiking and Fresh Air

For me, hiking and fresh air and trees make me feel refreshed. You might have your own ritual that turns you from bitter to sweet. Writing is another way to process, especially if you have “introvert tendencies.” Turning that bitter into sweet is something we all have to master occasionally.

From Bitter to Sweet

I’ve found that staying with the negative feelings long enough to let them surface and dissipate is the best in the long run. Nobody can say how long that will take, or what will come up. Eventually, enough time passes and the bitter becomes sweet again.

The Happy File

Another way for me to turn around the negative is to go to my Happy File (yes, it is like a Happy Place–thank you for asking). I’ve got a file with great and uplifting things in it. One is a hard copy file, and the other is a board on Pinterest that reminds me of all that is good in the world. Also, I like the idea of reframing negatives into positives, as the third point in this Entrepreneur article, How to Train Your Brain to Stay Positive, outlines. And looking at my Happy File or board makes me smile–even if it’s the middle of the night and I’m up with a bout of anxiety.

What Do You Do with Your Lemons?

Do you have an easy way to get out of a funk? I’d like to know…maybe I could borrow an idea or two from you. Please leave a comment!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: apricots, bitter, demotivation, Instagram, jam, Lemons, Pinterest, positive, Social Media, sweet, Twitter

WordCamp Orange County 2014: Awesome Moments

June 11, 2014 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

WordCamp Orange County 2014: Awesome Moments

Recently, I attended WordCamp Orange County 2014, not to be confused with WordCamp Orange County 2013. Here are a few of my favorite moments.

The Women

Mary Baum’s class on responsive design was Sunday’s funniest seminar. She kept us entertained while educating us on design challenges. And apparently, she loves golf!

Chris Lema

Chris Lema helped make the conference a community. He followed his own advice of being helpful. Getting the Most from Your Blog was definitely not about any get-rich quick schemes. Chris Lema set the tone for much of the conference.

Live Tweeting

You may have read my blog post about Live Tweeting at Conferences. Live tweeting is a fab way to connect with new friends. In fact, two of my besties (Bridget Willard and Peter Woolvett) were both people I met through Twitter. Some people we met couldn’t believe you could actually meet people from Twitter. Who knew? And here’s a partial hashtag report, in case you think live tweeting doesn’t make a difference in amplifying an event.

Offsite Meetups

Offsite Meetups at WCOC 2014

Another favorite moment was going to Café Vitaly with friends for extra-strong doses of coffee or the best sorbet and gelato around. Strolling on the beach, walking back from the Durty Nelly’s after party, and seeing some unusual trees (and giant cockroaches) along the way were also good ways to “play hooky.”

Jason Rosenbaum’s Business Coaching Workshop on Contracts and Proposals

Jason Rosenbaum’s talk was surprisingly useful. As a result of hearing his talk, I’ll be changing how I word some of my proposals. For instance, no more 100% guarantees—especially if clients want to “do it themselves.” Good, solid advice.

Slide Presentations and Videos at the Speed of Light

Session videos are starting to come online. All videos will be available here: http://t.co/ASwvuiPAfa and on our site. #wcoc

— OC WordCamp (@OCWordCamp) June 10, 2014

As we watched on Twitter, the presentations started to appear online. Many presenters uploaded their talks even before the weekend was over. How awesome is that?

Food Trucks

Gourmet food trucks, with items like Coconut Risotto (A Bite Truck), Mexican food, and bacon (of course!). Worth the wait. Also the gourmet mini-cupcakes, Skittles, and gluten-free brownies.

Artwork at Cafe Vitaly

Style Revisions

Derived straight from the creatives at Minecraft, WordCamp’s new direction feels somewhere between Super Mario and Flappy Birds.

The style is everywhere, from the giant mugs and t-shirts to notebooks, stickers, and buttons!

Chance Meetings

Meeting people like Justin @student_otc at one of the first talks, connecting online with @DownTownRob who met me and my friends at Durty Nelly’s. Meeting attendees and speakers while waiting in line.

Generosity and Friendliness at WordCamp Orange County

Generosity and Friendliness

Without the volunteers and sponsors, WordCamp Orange County would not have been such a success.

Finding Work/Life Balance As a Remote Worker

Jon Brown’s course outlined ways to stay sane while working remotely. And he was even more fun when he went off-script and discussed all the tools he uses (such as electronic devices to bring while backpacking!).

Did I Leave Anything Out?

What were your favorite moments?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: balance, Chris Lema, food trucks, friendliness, generosity, live tweeting, Mary Baum, Orange County, playing hooky, swag, Twitter, WordCamp, work life balance

LinkedIn: Top Ten Tasks (and Power Tips)

June 2, 2014 By Carol Stephen 7 Comments

LinkedIn: Top Ten Tasks (and Power Tips)

LinkedIn now has over 225 million users, with 100 million of those in the United States. Execs from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn users. Although LinkedIn has been the sleeping giant of the social media world, it has recently taken steps to be more interactive, giving users the ability to post rich media like videos and images.

Once the shy guest at the social media party, LinkedIn has blossomed, with 40% of LinkedIn users now checking in daily. LinkedIn is not the place for breaking news like Twitter, groovy pictures like Instagram, or delightful how-to images like Pinterest. But LinkedIn has quietly bloomed—by spending a little time on LinkedIn, you will be richly rewarded. Here are Top Ten Tasks and Power Tips for Pinterest and Twitter, by the way.

Here are some top tasks for you to tackle on your LinkedIn profile. For the more advanced, skip to the “Power Tips.”

Add a Professional Photo to Your Profile

Did you know that profiles with photos get seven times as many views as profiles without them? Make sure the photo is of you—not a cartoon avatar, not a photo of the cute new puppy, and not one standing next to your new car. A photo of you, smiling, looking professional is the best image for you on LinkedIn.

Power Tip: Add logos of major media outlets that have mentioned or published you below your photo. Brian Horn suggests “As seen on” with the logos right underneath your picture.

LinkedIn: Top Ten Tasks (and Power Tips

Update Your Status

Your LinkedIn status is the place to show that you’re engaged and up to date. Here’s where you can brag a little about a recent post you authored, a book that mentions you, or an upgrade in your job skills. Have an upcoming event? You can post it here!

Power Tip: Engage people by mentioning them. Type in the @ symbol followed by the name of the person. LinkedIn will auto-populate the name of the person. Often, those mentioned will like, comment, or share. This is important because it extends your reach and your posts will be seen by others. Note: do not overdo the mentions.

Connect, Connect, Connect!

LinkedIn recommends that you have at least 50 people in your network. If you have your colleagues’ email addresses, you can send a connection request.

Power Tip: Don’t use the default connection request, especially if you’re sending a request to someone you barely know. Give that person a reason to connect! For instance, “we keep running into each other at networking events, and I thought it would be fab to connect here, too.”

Use Privacy Settings

When you’re looking for a new job (or happen to be in stealth mode for another reason), use the privacy settings to shield yourself from prying eyes. The privacy settings are on a drop-down menu

Power Tip: Turn off “activity broadcast” so LinkedIn doesn’t send announcements to everyone each time you edit your profi

Fill out the Summary

On LinkedIn, you have more space than you would on a paper resume, and that includes the old-school summary section that everyone once had on their resumes. Don’t overlook this important piece of your profile.

Power Tip: Search for people in fields similar to you to see what keywords their profiles contain. When you do the search, notice who comes up first. Think of LinkedIn as a mini-Google, where you would like your profile to rise to the top in the search engines! The same thing is true in search on LinkedIn—you want to be listed at the top in a search for your keywords

List Hobbies and Volunteer Work

List Your Hobbies on Your LinkedIn Profile

Maybe you have a soft spot for rescuing cats. Maybe you enjoy working with kids or volunteering for a church. Whatever you like to do in your spare time is important to the person who wants to connect with you.

Power Tip: Make a particular effort to include volunteer work in your area of expertise. And even if it doesn’t seem relevant to you, include it anyway. You never know what people are looking for.

Join Groups

There are over 1.4 million groups on LinkedIn—that’s enough groups for just about anyone! If you want to be noticed, join groups. Listen to conversations or just lurk for a while if you want to know how people relate to one another. Every group has slightly different dynamics.

Power Tip: Once you’re familiar with how a group operates, you may want to start your own group.

Give Recommendations and Endorsements

On LinkedIn, Giving an Endorsement Just Takes a Click or Two

Endorsements are very simple to give—just a couple of clicks and you’re done. Recommendations, on the other hand, take a little more work, and so will be more appreciated. If there’s a colleague who has really stood out for you, give them a recommendation.

Power Tip: It’s not necessary to thank people for simple endorsements, since they take so little time (in my opinion). But I would thank someone who gave you a recommendation because of the extra consideration that goes into them

Updating Your Profile

Occasionally, you may want to update your profile. When you do, turn off the “activity broadcast” feature so that all your followers don’t get inundated with each little change.

Power Tip: Customize your profile URL if you haven’t already by going to Settings > Edit Public Profile > Customize Your Public Profile URL.

LinkedIn Mobile

While the desktop version of LinkedIn has the most features, having the mobile app can let you connect with people on the fly at networking events.

Power Tip: Simply search for the person you’ve just met on the mobile app, connect, and you won’t have to worry about losing a business card ever again.

How Much Time Do You Spend on LinkedIn?

I’m curious if LinkedIn’s new changes have you spending more time there. Please leave a comment letting me know!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: activity broadcast, connecting, Instagram, LinkedIn, LinkedIn mobile app, Pinterest, Power Tips, Profile, reach, Tasks, Twitter

Twitter: Top Ten Terms (and Power Tips)

May 19, 2014 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Twitter: Top Ten Terms

I’m teaching a class this week on Twitter to an audience with some people who are unfamiliar with Twitter. Every social media manager also has favorite power tips to go along with these terms. Here are my top ten “must-know” definitions, along with some “power tips.”

Every update you post to your followers on Twitter is called a tweet. Every tweet has a 140-character limit (including your handle). Remember: Your tweets are public and searchable by anyone on Twitter, even if they don’t follow you, so be careful about what you say. Deciding what you don’t want to tweet about is as important as deciding what you will tweet about.

Engagement

Engagement means responding to and conversing with your followers and others on Twitter. Most successful accounts engage on Twitter daily.

Power Tip: Monitor who follows you, who @mentions you, and engage with those people daily. These are the things I do when I first log into Twitter.

Retweet

Twitter is for sharing things that your followers might find useful, interesting, or entertaining. The “retweet” is a manifestation of this. When you see a tweet that you think your followers would be interested in, hit reply, copy and paste the tweet, then send.

Power Tip: If you just hit the “retweet” button, often people will not “see” the tweet, especially if they’re using a third-party Twitter application. If there’s space, you can add a comment, such as “Great Idea!” Here is how to send a perfect retweet.

MT

This means “modified tweet,” which is a retweet that you edited to save space.

Power Tip: To really boost a tweet’s power, add an image.

@mention

When you want to “tag” someone in a tweet, use an @ before their Twitter username (for instance, @Carol_Stephen). Add this mention and they’ll get a notification in their “Mentions.” This serves a dual purpose: they’ll know you are reading their tweets, and you’re giving them credit for finding great content.

Power Tip:

This is a newbie mistake. If you tweet @username without a period in front, only your mutual followers (in other words, people who follow both you and @username) and the person you’re tweeting to will see it in their streams. Add a period or other character before @username so that all of your followers will see your tweet in their streams.

DM

A “DM,” or “direct message,” is a private message between two Twitter users. It’s different than a public @mention because in order to send a DM, the recipient must follow you. Select companies can send DMs without following.

Power Tip: Do not automate direct messages. Asking someone to “like you on Facebook” after they just followed you on Twitter is antisocial and may cause you to be unfollowed. Many people consider DMs to be spam.

Hashtag (#)

This innocent-looking symbol is a hashtag. Use it in front of other words in a tweet to provide context or to organize a search for specific topics on Twitter. Be careful not to overuse hashtags. More than one or two will turn off your followers. Here are more details about hashtags.

Power Tip: Use hashtags in your own profile to attract followers in a particular niche. For instance, I have #Startups in mine.

Feed

Your home page has a feed of tweets from the people you follow (click on “home” to see them), while your profile page has a feed of your own tweets (click on “tweets” to see your own tweets).

URL Shortener

Since tweets are limited to 140 characters, services have popped up that shorten website addresses so you don’t use up too many characters in your tweet. These services are called “URL shorteners” because “URL” (Universal Resource Locator) is the technical term for a web address. URL shorteners create short addresses that work just like a longer URL.

Power Tip: Third-party apps, such as Hootsuite, have URL shorteners built into them.

Follower

Check What Your New Follower is Tweeting Before Following Back

A “follower” is someone who follows you on Twitter and sees your updates on their home feed. Just because someone follows you doesn’t mean you have to follow them back!

Power Tip: Check someone’s top ten tweets to see if they are interesting. You can also add people to a list even if you’re not following them.

Bonus Terms

FF or #FF

#FollowFriday was started by Twitter users as a way to recommend other Twitter users. It happens on Fridays; you can search Twitter for the hashtag on Fridays. Many followers also use #FollowThursday (or any other day) to recommend people.

Power Tip: Recommend one favorite account per tweet, and tell us why to follow that person. For instance, are they funny? Are they super-engaged? Do they have beautiful images? Give us a reason to follow. Otherwise, #FFs can become spammy.

Trends or Trending Topics

Any person, place, thing, or idea that a lot of people are tweeting about all at once is a trend. Find trends on the left side of your Twitter homepage.

Power Tip: Tailor trends by choosing your city or country. If your tweet relates to something that’s trending, use a trending hashtag to identify it and boost your tweet. For instance, if you’re at a San Francisco Giants game, you could tweet a photo and the #SFGiants hashtag–the Giants’ official hashtag. In San Francisco, The SF Giants trend often.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: direct message, Engagement, feed, FF, follower, Friday Follow, hashtag, mention, modified tweet, Retweet, social media manager, trending, trending topic, tweet, Twitter, URL shortener

Being Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

May 13, 2014 By Carol Stephen 10 Comments

Being Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Recently, on our Women in Business Today Google Plus hangout on air, we talked with Chris Brogan about falling in love with not knowing. That in turn, led me to think about being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Working with startups is always an experiment with content, with new technology, with being an early adopter, and with making educated guesses. Apps and social media platforms come and go. And being uncomfortable means doing what others aren’t doing, or not fitting in sometimes.

Engagement

People are always asking me how to get new followers, how to get ROI, how to make money using social media. Here’s the big secret: focus on the SOCIAL, not the media. This goes for anybody. You already have the tools (especially if you’re a baby boomer). So talk to people. Be friendly. That’s the key to everything. As the old saying goes, “it’s simple, but not easy.” So if you’re on Pinterest, comment on pins. On Twitter, retweet and talk to people. On Facebook, chat with people. Rinse and repeat.

On Introversion

Being an introvert seems to be trendy these days. Susan Cain did a really neat TED Talk, The Power of Introverts and Women in Business Today, which I’m part of, talked about it on our Google Plus Hangout. A couple of things I really enjoyed about Susan Cain’s TED talk. Go to the wilderness. And this: Solitude matters. That really resonates for me. For an introvert, however, it’s talking with people–especially in large groups–that’s especially uncomfortable. And for an extrovert, hanging out alone or with just one or two people could be uncomfortable.

Eating the Frog

How many times have you heard that old adage to “eat the frog”? Some days you have to eat a lot of them before breakfast. And being in a startup, you might be eating frogs all day long. Just when you’re the tiniest bit comfortable, along comes another frog.

Maintaining Focus Amidst Chaos

How do you maintain your focus every day? For me, the answer is writing. Lists and blogging help me clear my mind. The more I write, the more focused and calm I feel. This might go back to being an introvert. Maybe extroverts feel more balanced when they’re able to be around others and talk through their issues. What about you? How do you feel comfortable?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: comfort, discomfort, eating the frog, Engagement, Facebook, introversion, monetization, Pinterest, ROI, Social Media, Twitter

Twitter Influencers: Deciding Who to Follow

May 1, 2014 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Twitter Influencers: Deciding Who to Follow

So you’ve decided to become influential, eh? Your latest mission statement proclaims that you will be the King of Twitter, with a Klout score of 75 bajillion, and Starbucks will name a new drink after you. You’re deconstructing each tweet and how it affects your target audience, testing it, agonizing over each word, and tracking who retweets it based on complex algorithms and spreadsheets in order to attract the “appropriate” audience with the perfect hashtags. Is that the best route to take to become an influencer, though? Here’s my take. If you want to learn how to get more followers, that’s a whole other blog post.

Don’t Be That Guy

Have you ever been talking to someone at a party and had them look over your shoulder scanning the room to see if someone “better” had just entered? How did that make you feel? Then, when they realized that you were the the best friend of the mayor, they suddenly became your best friend? Gary Vaynerchuk says it really well in his video! Everybody is relevant.

You Don’t Know Who They Know

So here’s a for instance. Let’s take me as an example. Because I’ve done lots of work for people in the trades, I know a million people in construction. Well, maybe a billion, actually. There’s a construction company, who will remain nameless, who refuses to follow me back because he believes I’m not part of his target audience. And yet, I live within 10 miles of his company, have many connections to people in construction, and ghost tweet for three companies in the trades. But none of my social media profiles says that I’m in construction. If he made the least effort to reach out, he could make connections to many more people. But since he won’t follow or engage with me, I’m not inclined to retweet his material or lift a finger to help him.

People Have Multiple Profiles

That “little account” that you refuse to take seriously may be responsible for an account with a million followers. They could know someone who works at the exact place where you’d like to apply for a job. They could be best friends with your mom, for all you know. So why not be respectful to everyone?

The Second Chess Move in Life

As Gary Vee says, if you open yourself up to people who are not your exact target audience, if you reach out and say hello to people and stop “strategizing” and act like a human being, you’ll find your exact right audience.

Gratitude

Instead of following someone based on their Klout score, how many followers they have, or whether they have the best hashtag, how about this? Follow based on conversations with others, whether they have interesting opinions, or if you have something in common. And then how about feeling grateful for the followers you do have? And by the way, here is my very favorite TedxSF talk: Louis Schwartzberg on gratitude.

How Do You Decide Who to Follow?

Is engaging with the “right” people important to you? How has that helped your cause?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Engagement, Gary Vaynerchuk, gratitude, influence, Louie Schwartzberg, Social Media, TEDxSF, Twitter