Social media can be an incredibly important tool for socialites, business owners, bloggers and website owners promoting content. One of the things it can also do is be overwhelming, frustrating, and leave you feeling like you have no idea what you’re doing. I’m hoping this brief how to will be of some assistance and help give a better understanding of how to use social media in a positive way.
Let’s start with the big question – Do you have a goal in mind for using social media, or is it just the fashion fad of the tech world and catch phrase that caught your attention? All the cool kids are doing it right, so why not hop on that band wagon and try it out. Or, did you have a vigorous planned out attack that you are prepping for and will do whatever it takes to achieve your goal? Either way you look at it you’ve probably chosen to use social media for some purpose and there are still some basics that come in handy to know.
Not sure where to start with Social Media?
I mean there are so many choices… oh my head hurts and I just can’t figure it out. For instance, you have Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Instagram to list some of the big boys on the block. What do all of these social wonders have in common with each other? “They connect people to other people in the digital world” They help bring 140 character ideas to life, or allow family that’s a thousand miles across the world to view pictures of a new born baby, or maybe someone just wanted to take a picture of a turtle and post it cause they thought it was “Cute” yes I used the word cute and referenced it back to a turtle. Social media has a plethora of uses, but the best thing it does is make people just curious enough to click on whatever randomness you’ve decided to post, as long as you have people who follow you.
Well how on earth do you get people to follow you? I mean real people you actually want to connect with. Think of it this way…why do we decide to make friends with certain people but not others, or choose to like a particular brand of clothing vs. another, or even enjoy a Coke better than Dr. Pepper? It boils down to personal preference and what you feel best connected with or feels that it brings some satisfaction along with it. Social media is no different and if we want followers than we have to know how to provide something people can connect with and enjoy.
You can choose whichever social platform you like best but for what I use social media for I’m connected to about everything you can possibly think of. They are tools for me to connect not only myself but others to what I’m putting down on the table. I’m a blogger; specifically a blogger who loves to write about games, games of all types and I want my audience to know or at least feel connected to the things I write about. Social media allows me to get my material out into the public viewing area where people can now choose to stumble upon it, or even search it out. It becomes a two way street of I want to provide something of an entertainment value where people can then consume what they like of that material, but it also brings the option for them to comment, give feedback, critique, or even discard because they don’t like it. I don’t like that last option but some people may just not connect with the material you publish on your social media sites.
Here are my four basic rules for posting to any social media hub and I hope you all can take some goodies away from this. It has helped me tremendously in the past and I wish the same for all of you who read this article.
- The Topic – What Will you Post, What’s the Idea?
o Do you have a specific topic your writing about, is it clear and make sense, write it out first and read it back to yourself first before you publish. “Proof Read, Proof Read, Proof Read”
- The Audience – Who are you Connecting With, Does it Fit?
o Pretty much what it sounds like, if you are a gamer and your writing about a specific game and doing reviews but your posting your material for an audience of cooks…. Well it really doesn’t fit the criteria of Connecting with the right audience!
- The Frequency – How often do you Post?
o Keeping an audience connected not only comes down to the material you write, but how often you post, and when do you post. Some social media posters try to stick to a schedule which is smart if you’re a business, but what if you’re a blogger posting about a new game you’re playing. Does that still count… in my mind yes it does. You still want to connect people to what you’re doing right? Hard to connect if you aren’t active.
- The Interaction – Reply, Reply, Reply
o Don’t let a comment, or mention go unanswered. Let your audience know you actually stay connected and reply back to comments they have left. They wouldn’t have commented if it didn’t mean something, even a little to them. How would you feel if you were the only one talking in the conversation and no one ever said anything back? This is just the digital version of a conversation.
#NBI2014 #SocialMedia #blogger
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