Click for part 2

Hey friends

Social Media is too important. We have to understand it and master it.

So, I want to begin a series on my social media experience. I call it a series simply because I don't think I can capture the entire philosophy, strategy, and my experience in one blog. And to call it an "experience" is to leave the door open for future experiences. And because of my limited experience so far, I suspect I will be writing again soon.

I should start by saying that I will state a lot of obvious things. I'm going to be Captain Obvious.

Some things are obvious. Some things are simple. And some things are right under my nose. But that's been my experience so far. And so, this blog is more about my journey of discovery and an invitation to you to share your experiences and insights so that we might all learn together.

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To me, this is the ultimate socially interactive place. Without reviewing my entire experience since 2008, let me make an obvious statement. This is a place for social interaction! And so, I need to strike a balance between posting all my stuff (blogs, digital products, newsletter sign up, online store, etc.) with more personal-relational posts.

And the way I do this is by keeping a strict separation between my personal page and my business/ministry pages. Facebook calls it the "Fan Page". And so, I created a fan page for each of my websites. And I kept my personal page clean. This allows people to have a relationship with me apart from all the stuff I am promoting.

Sometimes I feel like I am inundating the people with stuff. It's simply too much for them to "like" and make comments. I am posting blogs and products everyday. And so, I have to be careful here.

Also, I did a little test today. I took a photo I took with my phone and posted it. Here it is:

And I wrote about how I walk this path everyday for exercise and thinking and prayer. And I immediately got a bunch of responses. So, Captain Obvious says: You must post personal things to create a relationship with the people. And posting a photo really works.

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The WA training has really emphasized the importance of Pinterest. And so, I took it to heart and created an account "Pastor Tae Shin".

I have 8 boards representing my 8 sites and I have 132 pins total as of today. And it looks good, because Pinterest, as you know, is very graphically orientated. And so, it's colorful and nice.

And I received a lot of confirmation from Pinterest itself that I am doing well (whatever that means). But for me, I don't feel anything! There is no interaction like Facebook. And so, I'm just posting and waiting for something to happen. I honestly don't know what I am waiting for.

I know....I know, people will find it and then make their way to sites. And I do see that happening. But it's not exciting for me right now. I need insight on this.

One factor to keep in mind is that Pinterest is about 80% women. This factor must be acknowledged as you share your content.

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Speaking of feeling nothing. Let me say it again. I feel nothing. I post on twitter all the time. I must have several hundred tweets out there. But so far, I see nothing and feel nothing.

Yeah, I know. I need to develop more of a following. I get that part. I guess I'm just waiting and tweeting everyday.

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Every time I look at this site, I want to leave. It's ugly and chaotic. But because it's hip, I created an account. But every time I try to post, they stop me with CAPTCHA and they just won't let me in even though I have an account.

This site is a sheer frustration for me. And so, I stopped posting.

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Now here is where it gets interesting. I post almost everyday on G+ and I see an immediate result in my Google ranking. My stuff is usually in the first page or second page within 10 minutes of posting. Now this doesn't happen to all my site posts. But it happens more often than not. And yes, my G+ profile pic is also included.

And so, I'm very happy about this. Now, I don't really socialize here. I don't see anyone really socializing. Everyone is just posting and then leaving. So far, this has been my experience.

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I post on Tumblr all the time. And the only response I get is from Tumblr itself. They are constantly complimenting me on my good work and even joke with me about how I am probably getting a writer's cramp. But I'm not laughing.....I'm not feeling anything.

I could be wrong, but Tumblr seems out of fashion now. And really, what's the draw? There is no social interaction. And so, I post and then I leave. I wonder if there will be anything more to this.

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I feel this social site is important. And I do post regularly on it. And I do see people interacting and checking out my profile. But again, I really don't feel anything. And I'm not really waiting for anything. Someone give me insight here.

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And so, I continue to post my stuff everyday on all my sites. But my concern is that I am becoming like that store AM/PM - it's TOO MUCH GOOD STUFF

And it could backfire on me. Eventually, we will all have too much good stuff. And we have to find the right balance of relationships built on trust and too much good stuff.

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By the way, I use the social media plugin "AddToAny". I am very happy with it.

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I realize that I have not added a wealth of insights here. But this is part 1. It is what it is: my limited experience. But I forced myself to do this so that I can begin to document my journey in hopes that I will master the social media someday.

If you have a better experience, please share.

Click for part 2

Thanks

Pastor Tae

* to see the overall inter-relationship of all the websites, click: http://pastortae.com/sponsor

www.pastortae.com

www.mywritingministry.com

www.javaforlife.com

www.maximizesingleness.com

www.oppositestyles.com

www.inlawdrama.com

www.oppositeparentingstyles.com

www.midlifechapter.com

www.plumberfriend.com

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