A Helpful Guide for Graduates
When I speak with students and student-athletes, I often ask the question, “How many of you have a LinkedIn account?” I am always shocked by how few people raise their hands. So with graduation approaching, and thousands of young adults about to enter the professional world, I was inspired to create a helpful guide, “5 Social Media Tips for Graduates”. It’s ready to share with students and student-athletes who need to clean up their social media accounts and online profile.
In this week’s video, I review what tips are in the guide, and why it’s helpful for graduates. Of course, these five tips are helpful for anyone who wants to polish their personal brand!
Here’s the link to download and view the guide: http://goo.gl/QJRqm0 – Please share the link with your friends and colleagues, and be sure to forward to your students, student-athletes and graduates!
Twitter List Tutorial
Last week I promised you a view of the new Twitter Profile and a tutorial for how to make Twitter lists. Please be patient with me as this is my first attempt to record activity on my computer screen!
Twitter lists are one of the most effective way to organize your followers and to find content to share across all of your social channels. Twitter lists are incredibly easy to create, but will require a bit of time to sort out if you already have a healthy following. In this week’s video I show you how I’ve built my Twitter lists and how I use them to stay on top of my contacts and Twitter.
Twitter’s newly designed profiles are available to all users (see photo below). Look at those big, beautiful header images, which can be used to brand yourself or your organization. You’ll want to apply some of the same strategies as you do with your Facebook cover and use the image to celebrate holidays, events and other news which can be visually captured.
Another great feature on the new Twitter Profile is the “Pin to Top” feature, where you can choose one pin to remain at the top of your Twitter feed, much like the feature on Facebook’s Timeline. You can cleverly use this feature to place your favorite tweet, most retweeted, an event announcement, or even a video which describes your brand.
I’ll show you the new profile design in Twitter, in addition to the Twitter list tutorial, so take a moment and enjoy this week’s video!
Hashtag or Bashtag?
While training my clients to use social media, I am often asked the question, “Why do people use hashtags? Are they effective?” Hashtags can seem to be an entirely different language sometimes. While the hashtag originated in Twitter, it soon migrated over to Instagram and then became active on Facebook. We seem to have picked up this habit in our spoken language, as is evident in this popular (and very funny) video by Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake: http://youtu.be/57dzaMaouXA
When used strategically, hashtags can be topic markers, mood indicators, voting tools, chat titles, campaign and event markers, product names, etc. And so with the various uses of hashtags, we need to employ strategy when we select hashtags for our content plan. Because without proper planning, you may find your results in line with #myNYPD or #AskEmmert – both examples which became bashtags this past week.
If you want to make sure you select the right hashtag for your marketing communication, then this week’s video is for you. I walk you through five, super easy steps to prevent your hashtag from becoming a hashtag. Have a look:
Social Media Strategy for Special Events
Working with the organizations that I do – Private Clubs, Athletics, Greek & Graduate Programs – I know that you all host major events throughout the year. They may be member traditions, golf tournaments, the Big Game against an arch rival or potential record-breaking game for an athlete, charity events, awards programs and alumni reunions. These are all special events which deserve extra attention in your communication strategy. It helps to plan out your social posts in advance so that you can repurpose the photos and stories into blog posts, newsletters and other communication which makes the event more interactive and increases longevity and engagement.
Today I share with you five steps to develop your social media strategy for special events. So get your calendar out, choose an upcoming event, get a pen and paper and take notes! Make sure you watch through to the end where I provide my weekly subscribers a free offer!
A brief overview of the five steps covered in the strategy lesson this week (I really want you to watch the video and take a few notes!):
1. Create Your Timeline
Create a timeline for the event. Take into account start time, meals, half time for sports, speeches and presentations, etc. You’ll use this timeline in Step 4.
2. Identify VIPs
Take a look at your RSVP list and identify your VIPs and people you want to feature in your stories. Identify their usernames on Twitter, Instagram, etc., so you can include them in posts later.
3. Understand The WHY
What is the significance of the event? What’s the story? Having a clear understanding will help you draft posts and better tell your story.
4. Build Your Strategy
Create a photo shot list so that you can plan to capture significant moments (think about those VIPs and things like presentations, awards). Draft your posts in advance. This will save you time in the moment. Build into the timeline you created in Step 1 the times you will post to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
5. Delegate
This is a team effort. Figure out who’s taking pictures and video, who’s posting during the event, etc. One person cannot do everything during events of this scale.
Following these five steps will help you during the event to capture magic moments, feature your VIPs, and tell an amazing story.
Do you have a tip others can learn from? Share it in the comments and let us know what’s helped you build your social media strategy for special events.
Straight From the Horse’s Mouth
Some of you have asked me, “Where do you find your content?” In this week’s video, I spill the beans and share my secret. I’ll give you a hint. “Straight from the horse’s mouth.”
I also ask for your feedback, as we are passing the three month mark on my sharing the weekly video and news with you.I truly want to hear from you. What video was your favorite so far? Why? What type of content would you like me to share in the future?
I want to make sure you look forward to receiving my updates each week and that the information I share is truly helpful to you. I aim to provide the most current news from the online and social media world, and tips to build effective communication strategies.
Please know that I have received one request to do a tutorial, where I walk you through a task on the computer. I’m planning and preparing for that. Stay tuned!
These first few months have been quite an interesting ride. What for some people is their worst nightmare, public speaking, I thrive on stage in front of a live audience. I love it. Recording these videos has been a true learning experience. I thank you for watching each week and the numerous e-mail responses I’ve received. You are always welcome to contact me on e-mail, or you can leave a comment at the end of the blog post. Thank so much! I look forward to your feedback and suggestions.
BONUS: I’ve looked over my past videos, and while the production quality of this video is lacking (it was raining in SD and dark outside, so very little natural lighting), the message hits home. I also did it in one take, which is quite an achievement! For the focus of the message, this is probably my favorite video to date:
Six Steps to Social Spring Cleaning
Since we celebrated the start of spring this week – so sorry to those of you who are not yet enjoying spring-like weather! – I thought I would update this post which first appeared last year around this time. The significance of this topic actually warrants an annual post.
One of the little pieces of advice I frequently give for managing social media is to make time once per month to review your social media accounts. As these platforms often change, your settings may change, along with the functions and features of the site. If you don’t make the time once per month, then I hope you will at least take a moment to “spring clean” your social media accounts, pruning and watering your network at least once this year.
6 Steps to Social Spring Cleaning
Think of these first two steps as housework. We’re inside and we have two key tasks we need to take care of before we can have a little fun tending to the spring garden:
1. Protect
Just as you would put on a pair of gloves to protect your hands before you use bleach, your accounts require protection, too. Let’s start with your login information. When was the last time you updated your passwords? Several social sites have had security breaches in this past year, as well as major retailers. Take a moment to change your passwords and better protect your accounts. Do not use words like “password” or “admin,” your name or your birthday in your password. Combinations of numbers and letters, upper and lower case are advised. While it is not suggested by most digital gurus, I do actually keep a written list of my passwords, as I have different passwords for each account (and my password memory isn’t that stellar). Do not use the same password for all of your accounts. You definitely do not want to use the same password for your bank account as you do on Facebook. Mercy!
2. Refresh
Next, make sure you review the security and privacy settings. Social media sites are continually evolving and often release new features. When they do, it’s possible that some settings revert to default. This is more often the case with Facebook. Go through your account and privacy settings and make sure that you understand how the site functions. LinkedIn’s settings are also multi-layered. Are you visible to only the people you want to be visible to? Refresh your profile data and make sure it reflects you accurately. Coordinate your bio/about me/profile sections across all your sites so that you are branded across each channel where you are active.
Now it’s time to do a little gardening and improve the health of your networks:
3. Weed
If you don’t actually know the folks you are friends with on Facebook, not sure why you follow some of those folks on Twitter, or cannot find value in your LinkedIn connections, this is a time to unfriend, unfollow and disconnect. Be certain about who you are interacting with on any of the social sites. It is significant to recognize that you and your personal brand are associated with the people in your digital networks. You would not allow unsightly plants grow wild in your manicured garden. Don’t allow inappropriate contacts to influence your network and image. Remove the weeds.
4. Organize
Both Facebook and Twitter offer a list function which is amazingly helpful in organizing your contacts. I have created lists on Facebook around how I know people. On Twitter, I organize my Tweeps by category/profession or topics they tweet about. A fabulous tip for the Twitter lists – you don’t have to follow people to put them on a list. Twitter lists are still one of the most under-used and under-valued functions on Twitter. My lists really help me find valuable content and stay up-to-date with my favorite accounts. This is an older blog post, but still relatively accurate in understanding how to create your lists on FB and Twitter: Make That List!
5. Plant
Since you’ve already gone through your contacts and removed the weeds, you should have some empty pots to fill. Find a few key contacts that you are not yet connected to and plant those seeds! Send them a nice note on LinkedIn as to why you want to connect. Use Twitter’s suggestions of who to follow. See who’s signed up for Instagram or Snapchat and make a connection. You can even follow some big brands to learn how they are using these platforms, planting some ideas into your head as to how you will leverage these networks.
6. Grow
Take some time on LinkedIn to endorse your connections for their skills. It’s a nice way to let them know you’ve remembered them and might spark a beneficial reconnection. They will likely return the endorsements and help you build your profile. Tweet to someone you haven’t conversed with in awhile or send a private message to an old friend on Facebook. Social media is designed to help you stay connected to family, friends and professional contacts. Take advantage of these features to allow your garden of networks to bloom.
BONUS: Lastly, take out your calendar and schedule 30 minutes each month to go through your social media settings. (So that you don’t begin to rely on my annual reminder in spring!) A monthly check-in will allow you to stay on top of new features, keep those weeds at bay and enjoy social networks which are active, vibrant and productive.
Happy Social Spring Cleaning!
Happy Birthday Internet! You Rock!
Can you believe it? The internet turned 25 this week! That’s right! TWENTY FIVE! To celebrate this milestone, I share with you my story of the first time I went online.
I actually remember the first time I went online, that I entered the world wide web. It was in 1995 or 1996 when I worked at the UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association. Go Gauchos! The Association had just been hooked up to the world wide web. And so at my computer, my co-workers and I huddled around my computer and using Netscape Navigator (remember that?) we went online.
We looked up very generic topics and were completely fascinated by what we saw. We were not exactly sure how everything worked, but all we could think was, “This is so cool.” We definitely appreciated that the internet was an amazing invention and one that could change the world. And boy has it!
As a communication person, I love the internet and all the fabulous technology that has been built atop its foundation. I am grateful for websites and social media, the ability to shop online, watch movies and TV and all the crazy apps that people dream up. All I see is opportunity. I see opportunity to be and stay connected globally and opportunity to improve communication. I have never understood all the negativity surrounding social media. All I see is the chance to connect and communicate with pretty much anyone, anywhere in the world. That, to me, is amazing.
I have no idea what the next 25 years of the internet has in store, but I am sure looking forward to the ride!
I would love to hear your story! Do you remember the first time you used the World Wide Web? Was it as much of an event as my office story? What are your predictions for the next 25 years? Will we see another Facebook emerge or do you have other ideas as to how the internet will develop? I can’t wait to hear from you!
BONUS: Read Yahoo’s 25 Ways The Web Has Changed The World
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