Bridget Willard | SaaS Marketing Agency

Author: Bridget Willard

  • How To Effectively Write Social Posts

    We all know we should publish social posts. We tweet or post to Facebook, but what is the best way to do it? How should the posts be formatted? When should we post? Let’s discuss.

    Why Does Formatting Matter?

    Formatting standardizes your social posts in a way that makes your personal workflow optimal. Adhering to these best practices has helped me build my own brand as well as many others.

    You’re completely free to disagree and disregard. With that, however, I ask for an open mind. Try my method for two weeks. See if you get more replies, engagement, and impressions. Do your own test.

    More after this video.

    People Scan, They Don’t Read

    It’s true. People don’t read. They scan. Think about yourself. You’re busy. You open your phone or browser to see what’s happening on your favorite social platform. What’s the first thing you do? Scroll?

    In order to get attention, how you format your social media post makes a huge difference.

    Stop Excessively Using Emoji

    Emoji are visual. They are pictures. Our brain processes images differently than words. (Remember the last time you made a spelling error on a graphic? It’s a different part of the brain.)

    Emoji use falls under “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” I know you love your emoji. If you must, use them at the end. Or a GIF (which is automatically at the end). Emoji are not bullet points.

    Who is your audience? Can they see the emoji? Most people over 40 who wear reading glasses. Even with my glasses, I don’t always know what the emoji is. I thought the sushi one was a lobster roll and I thought the slot machine was a house. They are too dang small. I’m not even talking about legit accessibility issues with screen readers.

    Carin Arrigo uses a purple heart at the end of her tweets. She’s using it to reinforce her brand. Purple was her mother’s favorite color. She honors her in all that she does.

    Don’t Hashtag Words Within Your Main Copy

    I find myself saying this often: hashtags are links. They are for filtering and search. Use them at the end so your copy is easy to scan and read.

    Formatting for Social Networks

    Each network has their own quirks. This is one of the many reasons why auto cross-posting is a bad idea. Instead, mix up your content and share it intentionally across time.

    Formatting for Twitter

    Just because you have 260 characters (or whatever they change it to in the future), doesn’t mean you have to use them.

    [Intriguing quote or question]

    [Call to Action]

    [short link]

    [Hashtag1]

    [Hashtag2]

    [Hashtag3]

    I use Revive Old Post on this blog (to cycle my content on Twitter).  Unfortunately, I can’t format my tweets that way. I really wish I could put the link before the hashtags. Oh well. Nothing is perfect or fool-proof.

    Formatting for Facebook

    Facebook uses Open Graph to pull in the featured image and meta description. Sometimes people don’t realize that image is a link to click on. For this reason, I like to nest the link in between paragraphs.

    [Intriguing quote or question]

    [short link]

    [Call to Action]

    When you hire me you get me.

    You don’t get an intern and you don’t get automation.

    http://bit.ly/BridgetsServices

    What do you get from a social media manager you find on Craigslist?

    Posted by You, Too, Can Be A Guru on Friday, January 17, 2020

    Formatting for LinkedIn

    LinkedIn is pretty straight forward. Sharing content is easy and it doesn’t matter if you use a short link or not. Sometimes, LinkedIn gets fussy if the link is shortened. So, go ahead and use the long, ugly link at the end. You can be pretty wordy on LinkedIn if you like, too. People actually read on LinkedIn.

    [Intriguing quote or question]

    [Call to Action]

    [website link]

    Formatting for Instagram

    Instagram is pretty simple and direct. It’s great to use a bunch of hashtags. You can’t even use a link. The big problem where I see people going wrong is taking screenshots of fliers that no one can read.

    I made a tutorial on how to use Canva to make these images instead.

    [Intriguing quote or question]

    [Call to Action]

    [hashtag] [hashtag] [hashtag]

    [hashtag] [hashtag] [hashtag]

    [hashtag] [hashtag] [hashtag]

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B7R6eCfHwKu/

    Formatting for Success

    Formatting your social posts allows people to notice and engage with your content. I double dog dare you to try it for two to four weeks. Look at your analytics. Notice your mentions increase.

    If it doesn’t work for you, I offer a free, money-back-guarantee to this advice.

    What do you have to lose?

  • Donations Are Important To Your Business

    Making donations is an important way to give back as a business. Nonprofits do important work. Instead of donating a portion of my income to one nonprofit, I spread out the love among several.

    I used to spend quite a bit of my time volunteering. Sometimes volunteer hours are harder to give. I even wrote about the value of my volunteer time for WordCamp Orange County.

    Supporting Nonprofits

    Ten percent of my profit (which goes up and down so sometimes it’s a larger percentage) is dedicated to donations to nonprofits. I support a variety of causes from nature conservation, to ministries, tech education, to the underserved.

    Recurring donations are a monthly subscription (think Netflix). It is much easier for me to do it this way than one-time donations.

    I am a recurring donor for The Nature Conservancy, Oxfam, WP&UP, freeCodeCamp, WWF, University Christian Ministries, and the National Domestic Abuse Hotline.

    Amazon Smile & More

    I also support Sea Turtle, Inc. with my Amazon Smile Purchases and I regularly donate books and clothes to my local Goodwill. I’ve been doing that since my late husband passed away in 2016.

    How Do You Spread the Love?

    My friend Beth from Adventure Auto Glass supports animal charities from their business. I love this so much. It’s part of who they are as people and resonates in their brand. What nonprofits does your business support?

  • Your Speaker Bio Should Be Friendly

    The purpose of a speaker bio is to appeal to both the conference members who choose your talk pitch and the attendees to attend. Be friendly so that your session will be well attended.

    When you are friendly, you are approachable. It means you smile, use humor, talk about yourself, and are open to conversations — online and off.

    Be Friendly Online

    It really is that simple. If you look down at your phone all the time, people won’t walk up to you. It’s the same online. You have to give them permission to talk to you.

    This means talking about your hobbies. People always ask me how personal they should be on Twitter. I always say as much as you are comfortable with.

    This allows people to engage in small talk with you. If you golf, they can ask you about your favorite course. If you have a dog, they can ask about the breed.

    Use Friendly Language

    Using friendly body language shows you’re open to talk. The same principle applies to your speaker bio. When you include language in your speaker bio that shows your personality, you give people permission to approach you — online and off. WordCamp organizers look for speakers who will make their event a positive one.

    WordCamp US Workshop

    It’s good to talk about your skills and qualifications. Be sure to also include your personality. I enjoyed giving this workshop at WordCamp US this year.

    You can see my slides here. My formula for writing friendly speaker bios is there. It’s like a Mad Lib. Have fun with it.

    You can use this format for your website or for LinkedIn. Feel free to change it to the first person. You can keep or leave out the speaking section. Most of my peers speak or should.

    Friendly Means Having Personality

    Tweets from Attendees

  • Remote Workers: Eye Strain Is Real, Yo!

    On average, Americans spend 8.5 hours in front of a screen every day. When I read this statistic, I was shocked, but it actually makes perfect sense. Between sitting at a computer for work and watching TV to wind down at night, I’m actually surprised that number isn’t higher.

    People are generally cautious about eating well and taking time away from their desks for short walks or some sort of exercise at work. We all know, though, that there’s a lot more to health at work than just eating well and being active – and there are a number of negative health effects your computer may be having on your body. Working on a computer all day can cause eye strain, headaches, and posture issues. If you’re someone who relies on your computer to do your job like me, read ahead to learn how to manage other areas of your health at work, besides the usual diet and exercise.

    Digital Eye Strain is The Con of Remote Work

    We all know what it feels like to stare at your phone or television or hours – no one ever feels their best after scrolling through Instagram or a binge watching Netflix (okay — that’s debatable — but still). Staring at your computer has the same affect; after several hours working at your computer you can feel symptoms like eye strain and headaches. The Vision Council coined a term for this feeling – digital eye strain. 

    After surveying and research, The Vision Council realized that many people who use computers, phones, and TV for at least two hours a day feel uncomfortable. If you’re someone who uses a computer a lot, you might feel these effects early in your day and your productivity can suffer. Luckily there are things you can do to help prevent the physical symptoms like headaches and blurry vision!

    Why Do these Symptoms Occur?

    Blue light, a wavelength containing a high level of energy within the visible light spectrum, is the root cause of this problem. Since the eyes aren’t good at naturally filtering out this high-energy lightwave, there are extra steps we can take to help block it to avoid digital eye strain issues in the short-term and retinal damage in the long-term.

    For starters, it might be smart to look into blue light glasses (which I wear). This fairly new option helps to filter blue light and plus, they are a fashion statement! You can switch up your look at work with affordable frames that are an easy and effortless way to help you focus on your health. 

    Fortunately, there are also apps available that dim your computer screen to match the lighting of the room you’re in, which helps reduce the strain on your eyes. 

    Finally, you can simply take breaks from looking at your computer to help avoid discomfort. Getting up from your desk every hour or lightly covering your eyes for a minute can help your eyes readjust to the light in the room, which gives them a break from the high-energy light. This was the good part about me having a dog — it forced me to take a break — which is good for my eyes. 

    These easy additions to your workday will help reduce eye strain, blurred vision, and headaches, but it’s important to be aware of the neck and back pain that can be caused by sitting at your computer as well!

    Beyond Your Eyes

    Have you ever been sitting at your desk and noticed pain creeping into your shoulders or neck? You’re not alone. Sitting at your desk and looking at your computer can cause lifelong posture issues.

    It’s important to be comfortable at your computer to ensure you’re working as efficiently as possible. If your computer is set up too low or too high, you can cause harm to your neck, back, and shoulders by looking too far up or down. Be sure that the top third of your monitor is eye level and about an arms-length away so you aren’t straining yourself to see the full screen. Think 90 degree angles. 

    Can You Personalize Ergonomics?

    If you already have back pain, wrist issues, or leg pain from sitting at your desk all day, personalize your space for your comfort. Consider a new ergonomic chair that will support you as you sit or a foot rest to allow more lower back support, if you already have existing back issues. For me, I like to sit at my comfy reading chair.

    Sitting for extended periods of time is also bad for the body. If you’re concerned with sitting at your desk all day, invest in a platform that can transform your area to a standing desk. This way, you can shift between standing and sitting at your leisure to reduce back pain, posture issues, and boost your health! Of course, I don’t like standing desks, but half the time I’ll be sitting in my bed.

    After looking into this more, there’s no denying that working on a computer all day can cause physical discomfort to your body. The unfortunate reality is that your eyes, head, back, and neck can all be strained from just doing your job. Luckily, these small changes – like buying desk accessories, taking breaks, or using apps – can better your health at work even if it is at home. Your employer may even provide allowances for these products.

    What’s the Takeaway?

    No matter what health issues stood out to you in the post, do your research and ensure you’re doing all you can to keep your health top of mind at work. Your body will thank you for it. And — as an extra added bonus — you will be much more productive. 

  • Is Your Site Ready for Social Sharing?

    As a social media manager, I come across a lot of websites. Most of them, sadly, aren’t ready for social sharing. Let’s get yours ready with this quick tutorial.

    Why Should My Website Be Sharable?

    Ideally, you’re publishing on your website so people will know more about you, your product, and/or your services. Small businesses can leverage social media to level the playing field.

    When your site is shared on social (because it will be) will it look like a blank gray box or will it be some lame default image?

    Every social share is a first impression.

    Set Up For Social Success

    Proper social setup is important on blog posts, yes. It’s also important on custom post types and pages. Yes, and pages.

    Even if you use a tool like like I do,  you still need to set the page up with a title, keyword, meta description, and featured image.

    Facebook’s Open Graph is the Google of the social networks. Make sure you have a 155 character description for your metadata (or excerpt) and a featured image that is 1200 x 628 pixels. If you ever plan to boost the post, make sure that the image doesn’t have more than 20% of the area covered in text. You can use their text overlay tool to check.

    How Do I Make My Website Sharable?

    You can watch the tutorial on YouTube here. (It’s embedded below, as well).

    Tools You Need

    iThemes Training Webinar

    You can watch the hour iThemes Training Webinar here.

    Questions?

    As always, I’d love to help you in your social media journey. Shoot me a comment and let me know how I can help you.