The Missing Link - Social Media

byLRenee

756 followers

9 years ago

Lately, I've been taking time to invest in social media... I mean really invest. I'm surprised it's made such a difference in the last couple of weeks. First, I'll say, I haven't been into social media for years. Getting going has been quite a trial for me. In fact, I've pretty much been going half-assed at it these last few months. About a week or so ago, I decided to set some action goals for myself, and I really believe they're paying off. So, I'm sharing a few things I've done.

1. I invested in a couple of apps/plugins. I only focus on one social media venue at this time, by the way. That's twitter. Why? Because as I said, social media is a trial for me. I think it's best to focus one something you can and will do well than take the scattered approach and do poorly in a bunch of things.
   
   • One app allows me to manage my social media accounts. Every morning, I take 15-30 minutes to go through the suggestions the apps has. I have 4 twitter accounts I focus on through this time. It suggestions posts to retweet and like. It also suggestions accounts I should follow and unfollow. I would say I'm netting between 50-150 followers a week per account by using this app.
   • I installed a plugin that will autopost my new posts to my social media accounts (LinkedIn, Twitter, and FaceBook). I'm still trying to figure out how to add Google+, and now that I think about it, I might see about Instagram also. It also autoreposts old posts, which is huge. I have about 70 posts on my blog right now. A lot of those posts were made when I was just a sparkle in the eyes of the web. This allows me to put it to the forefront again.
2. I've been engaging more on social media. Again, this is twitter only. I set up automatic DMs for twitter that asks engaging questions. This allows for a few things. First, it let's me see who is actually paying attention. A lot of people just follow for the heck of it, and don't really care who follows back. Others have their own automatic DMs set up, and really use it to disengage. Those who answer my questions are the ones really using social media to engage and want to engage with me. At least every other day, I try to strike up a conversation with those who respond to my DMs. I definitely could do better with a daily thing. However, conversing is so time consuming. It's easy to get sucked in for a couple of hours, which means other things don't get done. And I share. I tell them I'm going to share. Then I share, being sure to include their @name, so they know I shared. If anyone has any suggestions on getting the most out of engaging on social media in a timely fashion, I'm all ears.
3. I'm writing a blog post once a week. For power bloggers, it probably doesn't sound like a lot. However, I've really been slacking on my blogging lately. I've gone as long as a month or so without posting anything. Once a week (on Friday) is what I'm designated. It'll be consistent, so readers will know when to stop by for fresh content. And it'll be frequent enough that Google won't forget I exist. It's also not overwhelming for me, which is the most important. Again, it's the concept of do what you're going to do well.
4. This is a big one. I've realized for quite a while that I can't do it all by myself. I also know I'm only willing to pay for certain things and only so much on those things. Which means, I have to really pick and choose my focus and make concessions in other areas. I have to ask myself, what can I do reasonably and what can I do well? I'm saying this because though we hear about a lot of techniques and strategies, we don't have to adopt EVERYTHING. Some of you may be becoming burned out by trying to do it all. Instead, I'm encouraging you to focus. Get good at a few things and grow your following there. Become an expert in those areas and in those venues. Become trusted in your group (or tribe), so you become the one they share with their tribe.

I've been at this for about a couple of weeks. My goal was to increase my sessions from about 800 to 1000 by the end of November. After 2 weeks, I'm at 900. I'm seeing that goal might be too small. Of special note, I'm seeing improvements across the board in my Google Analytics reports. Lower bounce rate, longer durations, more pages viewed...

So, that's that. If I can press anything... that is focus.