Wednesday, June 09, 2010

what's up with the social media buzz????


hello everyone, trying to keep up with social media can be crazy!!! so, today I thought I would address a question that I have been asked quite a few times: how do you keep up with all this social media stuff? fellow bloggers, tweeters, facebookers, diggers and rss feeders, have you been driving yourself crazy with with all the social media buzz?


As someone whose job it is to make sure that everything social media is captured by my company, most of my day is spent managing social media. I know that many of us know the benefits of social media from a personal or even more, a business standpoint - but sometimes it can be very daunting. So, how do you manage all these balls above and keep your sanity? Is this why sometimes as bloggers, our posts suffer? I mean, can you really be a professional blogger, have a day job, manage the family, find time for yourself and keep up with social media? my very optimistic answer is yes!! Here are some of the ways I manage social media without driving myself crazy:

The FIRST secret is this: you don't have to participate in every one of them. Find the social media tool or tools that works best for you and stick with it. Like the saying goes: try to do one thing well as opposed to doing too many things and doing none of them well!!

The next secret to know is that in order to keep your sanity, you don’t need to read everything. Social web sites are like huge chat rooms. Try to participate whenever you can! REMEMBER: consistency is the key!!
For Twitter users, use smart applications to manage tweets; maybe using TweetDeck to manage the flow of information by filtering to only those updates that you care about the most. Also using the search button to find necessary info. Don't forget to load your blog feeds directly into your tweets, this will also help with content!!!!
Facebook has to be the most talked about, and the most misunderstood social media site right now. While Facebook can be an utter waste of time, it can also be an essential addition to your web working tools. The Facebook social networking phenom can be exactly what you want it to be; therefore, you must set your objectives for Facebook. Ask yourself this question: what do I hope to achieve from using Facebook? Is it a tool for your business or is it to catch up with old friends? Either way, set your priorities and stick with them.
.......and saving the best for last: BLOGGING - I have heard many questions and have experienced many of those myself. how do I keep my content fresh? how do you keep up with all the other blogs? how do you build a network? how do I get followers as a newbie blogger? how do I make my blog inviting?

Here are my simple answers: one of the first things I was told about blogging is this: if you want to be a professional blogger, you simply have to be consistent and stick with it just like anything else you do in your life. So, that's been my mantra! To keep your content fresh and keep your thoughts moving, keep a notebook and write your ideas at the top...don't pressure yourself to come up with great ideas all the time, just jot down whatever comes to mind, no matter how unconventional or strange it may seem. Keeping up with other blogs and commenting can be tricky, but plan your first 30-45 minutes before you blog to reading your google reader or reading through your blogger dashboard and commenting as you see fit! Look, if you don't get all your blogs in one sitting, then you have the next day. I have found out how much of a community blogging is and it's necessary to participate in the community. Keeping your content fresh means always thinking about  what your audience would genuinely be interested in hearing or knowing about. And sometimes, you may just have to reach out for help....
Do you have any strategies you use to keep up with social media that you'd like to share?

15 comments:

  1. You must have been reading my mind!! Just yesterday I thought to myself - how am I going to keep up with twitter, facebook, blogging and everything else.. This was a really informative post!!!

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  2. Kiki, fantastic advice. At first I was overwhelmed, thinking I had to participate in everything single media source out there. What was I thinking? Needless to say, I'm sticking with what fits my personality, lifestyle and trying to do it well - just Twitter, RSS and blogging. That's a lot there in and of itself. I do believe that consistency is key. Readers will come back if you continue to post great content and do it on somewhat of a schedule. Thanks for posting it. I know it will be of great help to many people and it was very reassuring to me. =)

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  3. Great Advice.
    I just started blogging in April, but I agree its like a part time job keeping up with twitter,fb, blogging etc. I have a personal fb account and have not done a business one yet, because blogging and twitter actually work pretty well for me. Im sure I would boost my sales once I do a fb page, but I'm kinda of toying with the idea of not creating a fb page. Its just more work. Decisions...I guess we'll see what conclusion I come up with.
    But your right its just so overwhelming at times.
    I personally like blogging, because you get to connect a little bit more with people that have the same interest.

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  4. This is a great post...and great advice!! I am not a blogger, but I am on facebook, twitter, delicious, and I use Stumble Upon and can I say, it's enough of a task without having thought about blogging. I also have an etsy shop and that also requires work, while not social media! I am appreciative of the advice and I certainly try to use a few methods to help me balance it all!!

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  5. It can be all quite overwhelming, well at least for someone like me:)

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  6. I agree, it does become overwhelming and sometimes I get very stressed out with social media - trying to keep up with everyone and with everything, but I had to tell myself like you said - prioritize!! Get to what's important first and then make time for the rest.. Great post as usual and I really love the advice....

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  7. Wonderful post Kiki! You touched on so many important things. Choosing a social media platform or two (as far as building your community goes) is very key. I've tried to keep up with a million different communities but found it to be daunting, intimidating, time consuming and a waste of energy. I love SITS and Blog Frog when it comes to social media communities. They mesh well with my blog goals and what I'm looking for in a blogging community.
    As for Facebook, I keep my blog post updates to my fan page only. Family and friends can follow my fan page if they're interested in staying up to date with my blog. There's no reason to inundate them with blog posts on my personal and fan page simultaneously.
    I like that you suggested reaching out to other bloggers for help. There's no shame in reaching out and in fact it's an important part of building relationships and a community.
    Great post Kiki! I'm totally adding you to my Reader. I can't miss a single post! Thanks so much for stopping by my place Kiki. I really enjoyed this post and your guest post as well. Have a great day.

    Kristi, Live and Love...Out Loud
    @TweetingMama

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  8. This was so perfect! I have two kids and literally have no time for facebook and twitter. I do have time to blog and try to do it well because I love it! My husband has facebook and I just can't do it like he can! Thanks so much for the guilt-free tips!
    Lila Ferraro
    Queen Bedroom Sets

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  9. This is great advice to a newbie blogger like me! I especially like the tip to find the social media tools that work best for you and stick with them. I have quickly realized that life is to busy to master all of them!:)

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  10. Fantastic advice!

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  11. Fascinating post Kiki. I agree, that it's to hard to keep up with all of these. So far, I've stayed away from twitter. Blogging takes up all my time :).

    xo
    M

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  12. Wow! What a fabulous post! Following for sure....

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  13. Great tips. I just downloaded that tweetdeck to my iphone and I'm trying to find a balance. Now what do you do with all of it on your blog? Is there a way to tidy it up?

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