Be Social Media Savvy With 3 Protips
Seven thousand Tweets and six years later, I have concrete evidence to prove Tweeting has successfully formatted my thoughts into naturally Tweet-able 140 character snippets.
While Twitter is my favorite medium and not all social networks are created equal, I love social media.
Since I downloaded Facebook back in 2007 and Tweeted my first Tweet in 2009, I have always been the first in my friend circles to explore new social media channels as soon as they pop-up on the radar.
And because of this, I have built up an exhaustive list of social media best practices. Here are three crucial points that you can take away right now.
Be authentic.
This is the best advice I can give anyone who is on social media. Refrain from posting something just because you think other people want to see.
Don’t post for likes/favorites/retweets. Post because you have something to say.
I have been hearing a lot of backlash from friends complaining that their Facebook news feeds have become a hodgepodge of showing off their meals at the hottest restaurants and exotic photos of travel destinations. I know friends who have sworn off Facebook or limited themselves to only checking their notifications once a week because of the discomfort they feel while scrolling their feeds.
But it doesn’t have to be that way if everyone just follows the rule of authenticity.
Facebook has become a breeding ground for envy because everyone is projecting a false image of themselves. We only post the AMAZING things that happen to us and seldom delve into realities of life and all our concerns.
Your posts will always reflect something about yourself, so be authentic. Your posts do not need to be perfect because we are not perfect people.
(Unless you are into social commentaries — i.e. Socality Barbie — feel free to diverge from this advice.)
Diversify content.
Just like with all your investments, you want to diversify content across your social media channels.
One minor pet-peeve of mine is when I am scrolling down my Facebook feed and I run into content I have already seen on my Twitter or Instagram news feeds. It is okay to do this once in a while only if you think what you are posting on one channel is relevant to another channel.
But, in general, dear friends, it is not savvy to have carbon copy posts across all your social media networks.
While it may seem like you are instilling a sense of consistency but, in reality, it is annoying and shows lack of creativity.
Here’s an example of how I would share an update about my dog, Buck:
Here’s an example of a recent post that I actually duplicated and why:
In sum, know the variances between the different social networks and capitalize on those nuances. My rules of thumb: Twitter is perfect for concise and witty thoughts, Facebook is great for long stories, and Instagram is the go-to for beautiful photos.
Keep posting.
This protip ties into point #1: be authentic and don’t be discouraged by lack of likes. Post consistently — once a year is too little but fifteen times a day (per channel) is way too much.
If you love tech, keep your Twitter updated with retweets from inspiring tech thought-leaders and sprinkle in your thoughts about the latest tech trends.
There is no guarantee that you will be noticed and picked up by an investor or a tech blog but think of your social media profiles as public profiles for people to:
- Know your interests and passions
- Network and stay in touch
Don’t worry about the likes and number of favorites or retweets.
You are a host of brilliant ideas and are constantly changing. Update accordingly and strike a balance between sparingly and rarely!
Always happy to help,
Social Media Queen
P.S. For those of you itching to get started on Twitter, I’ve created a how-to video for you (my first video tutorial)!
Tweet at @chchcher and let me know what other social media savvy tips you swear by!