Posts Tagged ‘Hootsuite’

 

Social Media Techniques for Creative Types

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

Social media shouldn’t be a drudgery–at its core, it’s communicating creatively. And that’s exactly what creative people do.

For artists of every medium, hue, and palatte, social media provides a challenge: shall I write/sculpt/sing/dance/teach/paint or should I hop on the computer and crank out some Facebook and Twitter posts?

Social media can certainly be quite overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

Here’s the traditional approach to building your platform online:

Write blog posts.
Share blog posts on Twitter.
Share blog posts on Facebook.
Share blog posts on                             .
Reply to comments on your own blog.
Comment on other people’s blogs to build relationship.
Find and add more like-minded Twitter followers.
Find other content to share to build relationship.
Share that content.

Oh yeah, don’t forget to write/sculpt/sing/dance/teach/paint. As with any creative endeavor, we need a roadmap. We need social media management techniques for artists so we can do what we love to do: create and share our creative work.

Hootsuite

HootSuite takes the ‘crazy’ out of updating multiple social media accounts. One status update is typed and is easily shared with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn… you name it.  

As an added bonus, updates can be scheduled in advance.

What does this mean for you?

Take ten minutes in the morning, schedule your social media updates for the day, then go create.

HootSuite does the work for you.

In less than ten minutes, this simple how-to video walks you through setting up a HootSuite account, connecting your various social media accounts to your Hootsuite account, and beginning to use it.

Buffer

Buffer is a tool which allows you to schedule updates on various social media platforms at specific times. It’s simple and it’s free!

Here’s a video introduction to Buffer if you’d like to give it a go.

Google Reader

Found a blog you like? Want to visit that blog more regularly? Would your own readers and/or followers find the content helpful?

Set up a Google Reader account and add your favorite blogs to that reader.

On many blogs there’s a ‘subscribe’ button or an RSS icon.

By clicking on that icon on the blogs you like, you’ll open a window that will enable you to subscribe to that blog.

Think of Google Reader as a folder of your favorite blogs and content sites.

Then go to this ‘folder’ for…

+Creative inspiration from those you respect.
+Content to share with your readers (remember to share the content of others, not just your own content).
Social media sanity.

Google Reader keeps you organized so you can spend more time doing what you love: creating.

By using just one or two of the tips above you’ll streamline your social media efforts, enjoy more time doing the things you love, and share your creativity with others who can benefit from your work.

 

Five Social Media Mistakes You Can’t Afford To Make

Sunday, July 1st, 2012

Everyone makes mistakes.

+Spilling milk.

+Auto-correct errors.

+Falling asleep in the sun with a tennis racquet on your face, creating a checkerboard face.

While those mistakes are temporary, social media mistakes last a lifetime.

By Alex E. Proimos

Sure, you could delete that tweet, amend that Facebook post (you can edit them now!), or delete your blog, but all that content may still be floating around cyberspace. Someone may have snapped a screenshot or reposted your blog post and now it exists forever.

Since most of us don’t want our mistakes to last forever, here’s five social media mistakes you can’t afford to make.

1. Tweeting and Driving

Need convincing that it’s bound to catch up with you? Watch AT&T’s “Where r” commercial. I also posted about tweeting during the Daytona 500 here.

2. Way too Personal

I’ve seen business owner’s social media following rapidly dwindle simply because the content they posted on their business account was way too personal. Updates such as “ugh, hangover again. Happy Monday to me” are not only negative, they’re simply unprofessional.

3. Disappear

 Growing silent on social media is certain death. The name of the game is conversation, and if there is none, no engagement exists and the platform slowly dies.

4. Running Faucet

Salespeople are notorious for being talkers. And (generally speaking) customers don’t like salespeople. But if a salesperson pauses or asks a question, the customer is engaged and is more likely to become comfortable with the salesperson. With social media, make sure the conversation is a two way street by asking questions. Which leads us to…

5. Update o’ Rama

Space out your updates, just like a good athlete would space out meals and snacks throughout the day. A smattering of tweets and updates is annoying to your followers. Use tools such as Timely, Buffer, or Hootsuite to help you space out your update.

Question: What social media mistakes have you made? What tips can you offer?