Social media like every other aspect of a business is something that must be invested in trend upon and developed with a strategy and goals and a purpose. When you think of great brands on social media or great leaders on social media this isn’t something they’re doing on the side, it isn’t something they just turned on, it takes hard work, lots of time and dedication to the be great at social Media. But that doesn’t mean using each social network has to be hard!
Social media is a skill is not a job just like being social in person and being a nice person are all essential elements of our day-to-day life social media is a great tool to communicate and build relationships but if you want to make money on social media if you want to do great things with your brand you must invest time, resources and people.
But if you want to find value in Twitter and start building your personal brand and telling your story then twitter isn’t hard. I would recommend not listening to anyone who isn’t actively on twitter today, because just like life changes, so has social media, it isn’t the MySpace of my college years or Twitter of the early days.
I find enormous value on Twitter daily by focusing on being myself, creating conversations. Twitter is a community you just have to find the right people, the best way is using hashtags, twitter chats or following live events.
Before you can implement what I call show you care social you first must understand how to make Twitter valuable & fun to use.
6 Ways to make T
witter Easy:
- Follow as many people as you want:
Ok I understand the 2,000 follower threshold but don’t listen to people who tell you about follower/following percentages or Klout scores or what the celebrities are doing. The great thing about your personal social account is you get to decide who matters and how you want to be portrayed. - Find your voice:
If you don’t know what your voice is, then social is the perfect A/B Testing space… try exploring different tweets, sharing different posts but the most important part is “Being Yourself” and remembering people follow you for YOU. I join a range of twitter chats and use many different hashtags because I don’t just have one voice or one thing to say I realized that my voice was just being me with no filter! - Use Lists to Filter the noise:
When you first join Twitter and are only following a few people lists don’t make sense or have much value. As you increase the amount of people you follow the noise in your feed increases. Create lists to organize, categorize and even target certain groups of people. You can create public and private lists and subscribe to others lists. This is a great way to find new people to follow while also understanding how people filter and break down their own news feeds. - Fall in love with Hashtags & Twitter Chats:
If you follow me on Twitter @iSocialFanz than you know I love and believe in the power of twitter chats, if you aren’t following me than hopefully by the end of this post you. I’ve written many blogs on twitter chats, created slideshares and have over 3k people subscribing to my gCal that lists 30+ twitter chats. So if you want to know more about chats please read those posts but the reason I say “Fall in Love..” is because Hashtags and Twitter Chats are to social media what your “TV Guide” is to your TV. They help you sort and jump into conversations and topics of your choice while allowing others interested in the same topic to find you! - #HatersGonnaHate:
It’s my 2nd favorite hashtag behind #ShowUcare on Twitter. There are bullies, trolls and people that just suck in every aspect of our life. The great thing about Twitter is THEY have the choice to unfollow you and you have the choice to block or mute them. I’m a ProudFreak which means I’m proud of who I am and I don’t worry about those unfollowing or hating on me I worry about those that want to listen. If you haven’t read “The Freaks will inherit the Earth” by Chris Brogan I recommend you add that book to the top of your list and join me as a fellow ProudFreak and tune out the haters and turn up your freakness! - Create Conversations not Communication:
I love technology and automation but too many people use these tools to replace being social on social media. When you’re a brand curating content, sharing links and information on your industry is vital but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to engage on social. For personal brands this is even more important. I promise you that I use more technology, apps and automation than 99% of the people reading this article yet not a single engagement, conversation or tweet do I send out without reading it, understanding it and having a reason for sharing it. Key is automating the tasks and humanizing the conversations and engagement!
“They key is remembering you aren’t following avatars or social accounts… you’re following the PEOPLE who are tweeting… Have conversations, Listen to them, Let them know they are heard and find ways to #ShowUcare”
