Category: Social Media

  • The X Platform (Twitter) Chats: The Real (Live) Part of Twitter

    Three scheduled tweets walk into a bar and the bartender says, “_____________________________.”

    Twitter is kind of noisy these days, it’s true. And I’m pretty good about spending a few 5 minute sessions in the home feed, too.

    People can get really offended when you (well, I, let’s be honest here) make suggestions. These are not the ten commandments folks, just ideas.

    Twitter is Social Media, not an RSS Feed.

    There are some that get joy out of the automation and others enjoy the conversation.

    I read a post this week and this really struck a chord:

    “With all the fancy tools, we’ve lost something huge: SOCIAL media. ” Amy Donohue 

    Look, I’m not against social tools or even some scheduling.

    But you still have to be there.

    Otherwise, you’re just sending messages out in a bottle.

    “Walked out this morning I don’t believe what I saw
    A hundred billion bottles washed up on the shore
    Seems I’m not alone in being alone
    A hundred billion castaways looking for a home” ~ by Sumner, Gordon Matthew. (more…)

  • How many hashtags should you use on Instagram?

    How many hashtags should you use on Instagram? Answer: a lot. But the number changes. Keep up to date with the trends by participating.

    Hashtags. I know. I have a bad reputation for my love-hate relationship with hashtag use.

    So many people get it wrong (wrong being the wrong word because there are no rights or wrongs, right?).

    Maybe ineffective use is a better way to describe many people’s Instagram accounts.

    I know a lot of Facebookers (who cross-post their Instagram photos) just don’t realize that when they post a hashtag on a private (friends-only) post, they’re defeating the purpose of the hashtag (to be found in search). But I surrender.

    Really.

    I promise.

    No, I’m serious this time.

    My personal strategy on Instagram is to post more landscapes, arty shots, and selfies. People bore easily of selfies on Facebook. But on Instagram, it’s almost expected.

    Bears in Grants Pass, Oregon

    On my first visit to Grants Pass, Oregon, I noticed bear sculptures all around town. So of course, I decided to take photos, put them on Instagram, and use the hashtag #BearsOfGrantsPass.

    Two things:

    1. I was surprised I was the only one using this hashtag. These bears aren’t new.

    2. I realized you can now click on a hashtag from your desktop.

    Boom. This is when I realized the power of hashtags on Instagram has left the boundaries of mobile.

     

    Try it on this post. Click on one of the hashtags.

    Translating to Business

    Will this change how much you use Instagram?

    Will this change what hashtags you use?

    When I was working for Riggins Construction & Management, Inc., I started an experiment.  I used 13 hashtags and started doing a weekly project. We got a lot of traction and results.

    We had a project in Irvine and since Irvine won’t allow signs during construction, I thought a geo-location series of photos on Instagram with a boat-load of hashtags would be a fun substitute.

    How many hashtags should you use on Instagram?

    How many hashtags should your business use on Instagram? The answer varies. Culture evolves. Culture on social media evolves quickly. Personal accounts can have long, drawn-out hashtags that involve sarcasm. Instagram should be more generic (think SEO keywords).

    “Interactions are highest on Instagram posts with 11+ hashtags.” Buffer 2014

    Which Hashtags Should You Use?

    With all things in Marketing, you should test and see what works for you. Remember that hashtags on Instagram, just like on Twitter, are used for filtering (search) and discovery. If you hashtag your name and no one knows who you are, this will be only effective for internal reasons.

    When it comes to hashtags, think keywords. When I say that don’t just stuff your post with the same 12 hashtags. Use hashtags that reinforce the copy in the photo’s caption/description. Otherwise, you’re at risk for shadow banning.

    “Instagram is inundated with millions of hashtags. But not all hashtags will help you in increasing engagement with your manifold photos on Instagram. The popularity of hashtag is inversely proportional to your photo’s chances of getting discovered.” Gurpreet Singh [emphasis added]

    Do your own research. Experiment yourself.

    Trust your gut. What do you click on?

    Instagram for Business

    Here’s an interview video with Amy Dononhue from March of 2015. (This post was written originally posted June 25, 2015).

     

     

  • It takes more than tights to be a social media hero.

    Chatting with a friend recently, I said, “Well, it takes more than tights to be a super hero.”

    We both realized, I needed to make this a blog.

    You can’t just install Twitter on your iPhone and think you’re an expert. Expertise comes from a whole world of experience. Experience takes time. I realized this after meeting a lot of people whose pay grade is much higher than mine. A WordPress Nerd is not a SEO Nerd is not a Twitter Nerd. I am a Twitter Nerd. But I digress.

    What does a superhero need besides a pair of tights?

    Superheroes have a mission, a recognizable costume, a song or motto, a sidekick, and superpowers or gadgets.

    You need a mission.

    What is the point of being online? Are you here for revenge or to save lives? Batman or Superman? Your overall mission on social media will determine your tactics.

    Though I don’t necessarily believe you need to write down everything you do and measure it to death, you should have an overall goal. Is it recognition or building a community? Is the end game selling widgets? Do you want to meet people and build friendships?

    You need a costume.

    I once joked that I was wearing so much spandex under a dress, I should be a superhero. Essentially, the superhero’s costume is his persona. It’s his branding.

    The “bat signal” was “just an outline” used on a spotlight. Boy was that ever branding. And the police force in Gotham were thankful for his help. We need a recognizable logo or image. No matter where they saw Superman in the sky, they recognized him. Superman was never mistaken for Ronald McDonald. (more…)

  • The Best App to Bond is Your Face

    Face-to-face communication is undervalued in our always-on mobile lifestyles. What app helps us connect better? Our face. It’s that simple.

    Back in 2014, Buffer held a Twitter chat about company culture. Company culture is still a timely topic — especially with regard to connection. How do you create, cultivate, and curate that culture? What if you’re a remote worker or a work alone?

    Buffer asked:

    “What are some great apps to keep team members connected?”

    We like apps to do stuff for us. Hey, I’m not against a coffee pot going off on its own at 5:15 a.m., ready for me when I finally surrender to the snooze, but some things just cannot be done with technology alone.

    My answer was:

    “Besides Twitter and email? Your face. We do lunches (at work) and it’s really important to our bonding.”

    We Communicate With Our Face

    I recently wrote about how a continual conversation around a hashtag can keep the conversation going and give you opportunities to deepen your relationship but there’s nothing like face-to-face meetings.

    We communicate in our faces, subconsciously. Emotions like doubt, fear, surprise, happiness, irritation, and anger are easily recognizable. I love to watch people’s faces as they talk to each other. Watching someone else watch someone talk can tell you if they believe them or not. Even from a distance, you can watch a couple and decipher if they’re arguing or bonding.

    Up to 70% of communication is in body language. Wait, what? Yes. This is why in-person conversation is ideal.

    If you can’t meet in person, use video chatting instead. Skype, Facetime, and Google Hangouts all allow for a more natural interaction to take place. In fact, a group of ladies I originally met on Twitter meet once a month (like a virtual meetup) on a Google Hangout. Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel.

    Meeting clients online is great, too. But eventually, taking them out to lunch helps. We make so many decisions, warranted or not, based on seeing someone’s face.

    “These studies have shown not just correlations, but causal evidence that facial appearances influence voting, economic exchanges, and legal judgments. People tend to draw inferences about personality characteristics, above and beyond what we might assume based on things like gender, ethnicity, or expression. Social attributions from faces alone tend to be constructed from how common facial features are within a culture, cross-cultural norms (e.g., inferences on masculinity/femininity), and idiosyncrasies like resemblance to friends, colleagues, loved ones, and, importantly, ourselves.” James Hamblin ~ The Atlantic “The Introverted Face”

    Faces Matter

    Have you heard the expression, “Put your best face forward?” It exists because a lot of us struggle with this. Our resting face, for example, may not show our inner cheerleader. We put our work hat on, concentrate, and are serious. Yet, people will accuse us of being angry, irritated, sad, or unsociable.

    Those of us who struggle with “resting face” issues have to work on our active listening skills. The truth is, sometimes people are boring; though we try to look interested, our face betrays us. Deception is told by the face. Often sarcasm is hard to pickup on unless you see the smirk develop in the corners of their mouth.

    Make Time for Face-To-Face

    In the article “The Dunbar Number, From the Guru of Social Networks,” Drake Bennett mentions that Robin Dunbar’s research indicates the average friendship can survive 6-12 months without face-to-face contact. That’s not very long.

    The bottom line is emails, project management apps, social networks and the like are all great to set up meetings, create deadlines, or serve as touch points, but nothing replaces in-person gatherings.

    Though technology can bring us together, face time is the deciding factor on whether the relationship deepens or dies.

    What do you think?

    Can you keep a relationship alive with text-only communication?

  • The Hashtag Keeps Us Together

    The hashtag keeps us together.Meetups. They’re fun, we all agree, right?

    But schedules don’t always match up, so what’s a girl to do?

    Follow the hashtag.

    And now, boys and girls, I’ll tell you a story.

    In my early days of Twitter, especially with the business account I started in 2009, I really wanted to connect with people in Orange County. While following and listing people for that purpose, I also found a meetup called Social Media Mastermind, Orange County.

    For years, I followed the people, loosely followed the hashtag, and finally started attending this year. It was cool because I felt like I knew some of the people before I actually became part of the group. (That really helps with the anxiety of meeting new people, by the way.)

    One of the long-time #SMMOC members, Dennis Carpenter, recently moved out of state. A business trip brought him back to Orange County and he made time to attend the meetup. (Also, it was nice to see how lovingly greeted he was  — what a group this is. But I digress.)

    “I’m so glad to finally meet you,” I said.

    “But I’ve known you for years!” he said.

    Dennis was convinced that we had met in person before. I had to remind him I started coming to this meetup in January of 2014. (more…)