Tag: twitter

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15 minute Social Media Primer {worth sharing}

From After the Jump Episode 84, a quick primer on using or getting started with social media (facebook, twitter, instagram etc!)  http://www.heritageradionetwork.com/episodes/6587-After-the-Jump-Episode-84-Social-Media-Primer

afterthejumpcover170x170Listen to more from the After the Jump podcast series via:
itunes  || stitcher  ||  rss

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Scheduled Facebook posts / Twitter Tweets

A great easy example of how I use scheduled facebook posts / tweets using hootsuite would be for the Southland Association and Southland Jamboree as pictured.

Hootsuite scheduled posts / tweets

I agree that not all posts/tweets should be automated but there is also a time and place for automation. Some social media experts would argue with me on this because social media should be social! I agree, but that doesn’t mean you can’t automate certain things!

You DO need to remember that you scheduled posts and adjust where needed. Example scenario: rained-out outdoor event. If you know early enough you should delete the automated post and post about the cancelation.

If say you aren’t sure, it might be wise to add a post about when the rain-out will be called. Example: “We’ll post by 6pm whether the event is rained out or you should bring your rain boots with your chair to catch some great bluegrass music!”

Scheduling can be a great tool, just don’t abuse it. 🙂

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Local Search ecosystem chart

Local Search is an important part of developing a good search engine marketing plan for many businesses.

Local search is especially important for small businesses and locally owned business that rely on a lot of walk-in customers. For example: restaurants, hair salons, co-op groceries, home decor, chiropractors and gift shops just to name a few.

This is a great chart showing the connections between various local search resources.

local_search_ecosystem downloaded March 2013

Source: http://getlisted.org/resources/local_search_ecosystem.pdf

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Social Networking – mini blogs and blog replacements

I had a somewhat random thought the other day … facebook, Google+ and twitter in a sense are partially replacing blogs and RSS feeds. Not entirely but to a degree.

People using rss feed readers for blogs hit a peak or market saturation because using one is a choice and it’s a bit tedious because it IS highly configurable. And because it’s one more thing to keep up with as posts sit out there as unread until you read them or tell the rss reader to “mark all as read.” And without an RSS reader like Google Reader, people tend to be able to consume fewer blogs by visiting site by site.

Facebook / G+ / twitter allow everyone and every business in a sense have a mini blog for events and products and announcements. And because the display is realtime, people tend to read only what is right in front of them and current instead of trying to play catchup to things that are older

No, I’m not saying RSS is dead. That’s far from the truth. It’s just that there are a wide variety of opportunities out there from both a publishing and consumption standpoint.

Also note that influencers still utilize feed readers. I still use Google Reader. There’s no way I could consume as much info as I do without a feed reader.

Related articles:

 

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Short Social Media Checklist:
Converse, Connect, Create

  1. CONVERSE: Social media is ideally a conversation.

    • Reply: reply to comments made to you. Drives me crazy when I post a question only to find out that the person never responds to anyone. You may not need to respond to all questions (see the definition of “trolls”) but don’t neglect responses completely.
  2. CONNECT: Review recent posts by people you are connected to. Set a time limit if you find yourself spending too long on this step.
    • Comment: Are there any posts that you can comment on? Answer questions? Ask questions? Say how cool something is?
    • Re-Share: Are there any posts that you think other people following would enjoy reading? Local events that need to be shared? Industry news?
    • “Like” / +1: Maybe someone has a great picture of a sunset or something else you enjoyed seeing but doesn’t really require a comment. Let them know you liked it by hitting that “like” (facebook) or +1 (Google+) button.
  3. CREATE:
    • What did you do today that’s interesting? (Don’t post about your cereal unless you work for a company that makes cereal please! If you REALLY don’t have anything interesting to say, it’s ok to go a day without posting!)
    • Do you have any events, milestones to share? Upcoming to announce or events you just wrapped up. Some goal you achieved?
    • Do you have a photo or flyer? Visuals often draw people’s attention.
    • What is special about this? Don’t just share what, share something that’s interesting and unique about it if you can.
    • Is there a WWWWWH? Who, What, When, Where, Why, How.
    • Is there a question you can ask? You want to engage people, remember, it’s a conversation.
If you don’t have time to do all of this, don’t panic. Just do something regularly – don’t over think it too much.
Disclaimer: We don’t want any political gaffs so when I say don’t over think it, if you think you would offend your mom or it needs to be a private post, don’t post it. Also if you wouldn’t say it to the person’s face, don’t say it.
I recommend focusing on positive “I like” instead of negative “I hate” posts and responses.
Also, if your business is larger you may need more tools and to focus on more like best times to post and scheduled announcements or reminders. This is just a checklist to help get you started.
Worth repeating: Social media is ideally a conversation.

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Facebook Page “Cover” designs – branded social media

I just updated the Southland Jamboree page & was thinking I should mention that I design facebook “covers” for your facebook page that work well with their layout.

I can also make headers for Google+ and backgrounds that work well with Twitter in case you want a unified look across all of your social media outlets.

See:
https://www.facebook.com/SouthlandJamboree

Or my own:
https://www.facebook.com/hilary.baumann
https://plus.google.com/112754019546978412552/about
https://twitter.com/hbaumann