Part 1 in a two-part series.
“Are you engaging or engaged?” That’s a lot like asking, “Are you winning?” You may be visible, but who’s listening? Moreover, who are you talking to, and about what? Do you know what it takes to be an engaged social/digital citizen?
- Profile photo. No photo, no engagement. No one wants to talk to, or follow, the Invisible Man. Have your photo taken by a portrait studio and upload the web/internet/screen version to your social profiles.
- Content. Write content that’s remarkable, impressionable, memorable. Occasionally, write something diametrically opposite to one of your colleagues’ viewpoints and invite a discussion.
- Participation. Don’t be an ochlophobe if you can help it, especially online. There will always be someone who argues with what you post for the sake of arguing. The key is to not let it get to you. There are “experts” in your industry talking, posting, conversing with one another; catch up with them and learn from their experiences.
- Lose the auto-bug. Have you been bitten by the auto-bug? Do you rely so much on automation you feel you can’t “stay on top of it” without using a program to auto-post for you? We depend so much on this facet we forget there are actual people reading our content, commenting, and waiting for a real response! This is where most people get lost in life, work, and yes — automation. Life happens; sometimes it’s unavoidable, sometimes not. Work happens, but we try to schedule around it for the most part. Automation, on the other hand, is mostly avoidable. How? Post during the day without your automation tool (i.e., Hootsuite) — post as yourself.
- Don’t be “that” sales guy. Social media experts will argue amongst themselves about the 80/20 rule. I stand by it. For those of you who don’t know what the rule is: 80% of the content you post and/or should be educational and informational, with the remaining 20% an actual sales pitch. When you sell too much, you turn off your audience and their eyeballs. The most effective way to win is to both attract and retain viewers to your content. That means your content should solve a problem, inform/educate, and be THE BEST.
How engaged are you? Don’t ask Jean-Luc Picard; ask your followers.
Be strategic. Be visible. Be found.
