How to Use the Little Twitter Bird Smartly and Feed it at the Same Time

When you go to someone’s home and you’re embraced with genuine open arms that make you feel like you were always supposed to be there and as a result, you question yourself on why on earth you didn’t come to this lovely place sooner, it’s because you feel genuinely loved and treasured. That is how Twitter makes me feel when I use it. By the looks of it, and based on the great opinions of other people that I’ve heard recently, that’s the way Twitter makes many people feel. This positive experience is what makes Twitter one of the most beloved platforms out there, despite the fact that it’s not necessarily the most popular.

So what is the Best Way to use Twitter?

If you are wondering how to best use Twitter, you are not alone. With all the hashtags, @ symbols and shorter links that you can’t really make sense of at first glance, it’s no wonder if you doubt whether you can embrace this unique platform when you first encounter it. It is necessary to learn a little bit about the ins and outs of Twitter to use it to its full advantage. But it’s important that you keep two things in mind:

1. Of all the platforms, I think that the comfort you will feel when using Twitter will make you say, “Alright, I can learn this and I WANT to learn how best to use this platform. The nice people that I want to interact with and who are very kindly interacting with me are making my learning of Twitter more worthwhile.”
2. Use Twitter to EDIFY and uplift people. As I said in my blog for Day 2 of the Social Media Challenge,

“Twitter is like a gift exchange reunion. It inspires you to learn about it to be able to share your gifts with others, but most importantly, it  inspires you to look within yourself and truly dig deep to learn what you succinctly have to offer the world.”

Looking at this rationale to learning more about Twitter makes this less daunting, more meaningful and more fun.

Looking for Unique Ways to Use Twitter?

In Day 4 of the Social Media Challenge, Natalie Sisson asks us to answer the following question:

How are you using Twitter to build your brand, engage with your community and find new customers?

In the time that I’ve been using Twitter, I have used it to:

• Participate in live courses and provide live feedback for those courses
• Vote for people on TV shows
• Reach out to famous people (and have had them write back!! Yahoo!)
• Retweet words by people who are famous and not famous yet (that’s the operative word)
• Respond to friends and family
• Interact with people who follow me
• Share my vision
• Increase my confidence
• Promote other people’s services, writings and teachings
• Provide inspiration to my followers

Here are some great resources for how you can use Twitter. Be forewarned that there’s lots of tips but if you do at least one a day, over the next month, you will have greatly improved your knowledge of and benefit from Twitter.

• 5 ways to use Twitter beyond the basics
• How To Use Twitter to Get Clients and Make Real Money
• 16 Creative Ways to Use Twitter for Business

Given that there is so much to implement and learn when it comes to Twitter and other social media platforms, I will continue to work towards my efficacy on that and sincerely hope that you join me on this journey. Let’s branch out! Get it? 😉

Your Turn to See if You Heard this Post’s Tweet Accurately

Twitter is a platform such a rich experience and is conducive to such engaging conversation, that it’s hard to limit today’s questions to only one or two. So pick your favorite question below and share your answer in the comments section.

• What do you use Twitter for?
• How do you use it to interact with others?
• What gifts do you give on Twitter?
• What gifts does it give you?
• What is the best experience you have had on Twitter?

If you believe that other people in your awesome network will find this article useful, please share it using any of your social media platforms that you are working toward really making the best use of.

Did you Know There are Widgets and Optins for Facebook?

I didn’t know until today thanks to Natalie Sisson. In Day 3 of the 10 Day Social Media Challenge,  Natalie asks a question that is personally embarrassing for me. She asks:

How are you using Facebook to build your brand and business?

I have to say that I haven’t used Facebook well enough. As I was writing my blog post yesterday titled How to Present Yourself in the Best Light in Social Media Platforms, and was creating analogies for what some of the social media platforms represent to me, I purposefully left my analogy for Facebook out based on the the lesson Bambi learned, “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Don’t get me wrong, though. Of course there are good things that Facebook offers. However, I don’t know if it’s just me, or if I’m the only one that has experienced Facebook negative repercussions when I see people using Facebook for the wrong reasons, at the wrong time and by the wrong people. I realize much of this Facebook misuse has to do with netiquette. You know what I mean: People sharing way too much… including profile pictures of the unborn. I respect the choice that people have to post what they want. It’s a freedom that people wish to exercise and in many cases, it’s a guaranteed freedom. My personal philosophy is that everybody needs to treasure certain things SO much so, that at the very least, those things that they truly treasure remain sacred. I don’t know what it is about Facebook that makes people strip down, both literally and figuratively, and reveal as much as they can get away with. There is even a funny episode on Ellen DeGeneres in which Ellen calls out her guests on some of the photos that they post on Facebook without thinking that the photo they’re posting could be THE photo with which they’re publically embarrassed with on national television.

“If you want to push someone in your life away, post the most self-absorbed and insignificant Facebook messages you can think of.”

Look! Your name is in Lights on Facebook!

As I have been trying to convey, I don’t know what it about Facebook that causes ego and societal conflict. Yes, you read correctly. Conflict. It’s almost a war between the “haves” and the “have nots.” People ask, “How many followers do you have on Facebook?” “How many Likes did you get on the photo you last ate at a restaurant?” It’s almost like trying to keep up with the virtual Joneses. Now it’s not a matter of how  much money you have, it’s a matter of how many “Likes,” and “followers” you have. And the impact of bullying or public humiliation on Facebook, or any other social media platform, for that matter, can cost precious lives. The way some people use Facebook can sometimes be vicious , but what’s worse, is that we can be even more vicious with ourselves because we compare our “success,”  “value” and “popularity” with the Facebook measuring stick. I don’t know about you, but I really do think that YOU and I are much more valuable, lovable and worthy of Facebook psychometrics. Of course, I understand, and so should you, that Facebook is a wonderful business tool. But remember that it’s a tool, not the end-all-be-all gauge to who you are.

So how have I used Facebook? Not enough. Why? Precisely because I’m very cautious of doing exactly what has turned me off in Facebook all these years. Put bluntly, I don’t want to be the cause of somebody else’s negative experience with this platform.

There is hope for using Facebook in a Meaningful Way

This January, I was fortunate enough to join a private Facebook group hosted by a couple of authors whom I greatly admire. I was hesitant to joining because I had never been able to extract any real value out of Facebook, (even though I do have my followers and friends), but I joined the group so anyway and I’m super glad I did. It seems to me that the popularity and wide-open door that Facebook has is analogous to the world that we live in. There are many loud and disrespectful people on it. However, in a more intimate setting of a private Facebook group, people seem to “remember,” and thankfully “apply” their manners wonderfully, and for the most part, Facebook groups make you feel safer. Since then, I’ve joined other lovely facebook groups hosted by Natalie Sisson and Natalie MacNiel and I have to say, they too, also make sure that their Facebook groups feel homey and secure.

Caveat on my Interpretation

Perhaps my analysis of how many Facebook users sometimes cross the line is totally opposite of what you’ve experienced, and you see men, women, teens and age-appropriate children interacting supremely well at every moment. And that’s cool for you! Awesome. Or maybe it’s just a matter of interpretation, which is totally fair (so forgive me if I seem to be rambling on, on what to you may be a futile point). But what I know for sure, is that when you present yourself on Facebook, you ought to take Sally Hogshead advice into consideration, you HAVE to be fascinating. You can read her book Fascinate to learn more about how the world perceives you and how you can use your true essence to your advantage. Above all, be purposeful in how you say what you say. Add that unique oomph! Don’t be blah!

So given that I’m definitely not the Facebook guru you were perhaps expecting, please follow Natalie Sisson’s advice on the extra features that can make your Facebook business page truly wothwhile. In comparison to her wealth of knowledge, I have one tiny thing tip that I’ve learned in all my time using my personal Facebook. Edify! In other words, UPLIFT people and yourself by providing something of value. Edify your business. Edify your brand.

“Before posting anything on Facebook, ask yourself, ‘If somebody else posted what I’m about to post, would I personally find it valuable?'”

If you are sure you would find your post valuable, then great, go right ahead, post it (By the way, posting something just to laugh for half a nanosecond doesn’t count).  If you don’t find what you’re about to post valuable, do us all a favor and don’t post it. Apply the Golden Rule. In the words of Bambi’s lesson, but with a slight twist “If you don’t have anything truly interesting to say, don’t post anything at all.” I can guarantee that when you post UPLIFTING things perhaps you won’t get as many likes as if you posted other things (because not everybody “digs” the valuable and more profound things in life), but at least you can feel good, really, really good about what you posted… especially because you will know that you didn’t pollute the cyber ecosphere… and instead you planted what may seem like a tiny and insignificant seed that has the potential of growing into something great.

Making Sure You Apply the Tips

The purpose of this blog post was simply an invitation for you to reflect on your use of Facebook. So what do you think about the following questions:

• How are you using Facebook to build your brand and business?
• How do you use your personal Facebook profile successfully and purposefully?

I welcome you to join this discussion, which I’m aware is a bit controversial, by sharing your comments below. If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends, on Twitter, on Pinterest, via email, in Facebook— everywhere! 🙂  

How to Present Yourself in the Best Light in Social Media Platforms

Have you ever been to a party where you had an idea of who the people were, but you weren’t sure which circle to join?

In Day 2 of the 10 Day Social Media Challenge, Natalie Sisson asks a question that every person wishing to make the best use of their online presence should ask themselves:

Who is your target market, which social media sites should you be focusing on and why?

In the party example scenario, before joining any circle, you should definitely know one person. Whom? Yourself, of course! By knowing yourself, you will have the best idea about what value, conversation, “likeability” and services you can bring to that group. For example, if you’re typically shy do you think you will have a lot of value if you join the conversation of the hard-metal-loving group in the corner? Probably not.  Or if you are really outgoing and a party animal do you think that you would like to join on on the mores gloomy topics being talked about at a party. Mmm, nope.  Social media is like that.

If you want to know whom to serve, you must know what you have to offer.

This is probably a very simplistic premise, but it is one that is often overlooked. Many times, you want, strive, dream, plan and exhaust yourself trying to be everything to everyone. REALLY? You think YOU are going to be THE person to pull that feat off? In your dreams!! Actually, no, not even in your dreams.

So, before wanting to go out into the social media sphere trying to conquer every platform there was, there is and there ever will be, in addition to focusing on knowing thyself, focus on where your audience is. This advice is simple, but according to Natalie Sisson, very instrumental.

Just like with everything in life, there are gravitational pulls in social media which for some reason, attract and repel certain types of people more than they do others. One fantastic and very visual way to see which platforms your ideal clients or followers are most likely in, can be studied in a website by Social Media Today. In order to make your use of social media most effective, Natalie suggests that you focus on using three social media platforms as you’re starting to build your brand. After you have a solid grasp on these three, you can extend your reach using additional platforms. Natalie actually makes it easier for you because she encourages you to choose out of these platforms:

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Google Plus
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Pinterest

The best media platforms for Love and Treasure Followers

So, when I stop to analyze my ideal follower demographics and where they are and where they can most likely be found in the future, I’ve concluded that I can be of greatest service by focusing on three media platforms:

1) Facebook: Regardless of whether or not Facebook is your favorite social media platform, Facebook is a must. Why? Because this is the platform that has the greatest number of subscribers. So if you literally want to reach the greatest number of people in the world, Facebook is the place to be. It’s really where “everybody” in the world hangs out.

2) Pinterest: There is something very alluring about Pinterest. Perhaps it’s simply that the human eye is naturally drawn to beautiful things, beautiful writings and beautiful people. Pinterest allows you to portray your message visually, in a beautiful setting, and in beautiful light that has the capability of directly attracting others. There are many things in Pinterest that people “love” and that people “treasure.” While both male and females have the same opportunity in appreciating the gifts that life offers, it’s advantageous for me to reach out to followers on Pinterest, knowing that they can have this sort of affinity to the truly “fine” and most valueable things in life.

To me, Pinterest is like a BIG and worldly treasure chest, where everybody holds and shares what is dearest and most appealing to them.

For people starting out online, Pinterest is a very useful place for increasing traffic and brand exposure.

3) Twitter: Even at the risk at sounding cheesy, there is something really endearing about Twitter, and this characteristic works especially well for my audience. It goes beyond the cute blue bird Twitter uses for its logo. If Pinterest is a treasure chest, Twitter is a unique party in which people give and receive gifts. You give a gift of your brand and message, you receive a gift of someone else trying to reach out to you to give you their brand and message. You give, you give you take. It’s a really ying and yang interaction… and the energy on this platform feels really balanced. I’m proof that Twitter is ideal for increasing your brand exposure and family interaction, since most of my followers are on Twitter. I’m really grateful for that and I’ll continue to be very loyal to Twitter.

If there is a social media platform that truly and warmly welcomes you with open arms, it’s Twitter.

How to Put Your Best Foot Forward in Social Media

Once you’ve identified where your audience is, it seems that there are two potential problems you can face when it comes to social media.

1) You don’t know what to write

2) You have a lot to write and/or you’re easily distracted by all of the updates that the FFF post (your followers, family and friends post). So while it’s perfectly acceptable to engage with them, do have some parameters so that you don’t go overboard supporting everyone and everything EXCEPT your vision. If you have a slightest ion of “the disease to please” you have to be extremely vigilant about this.

Solving this dilemma of being strongly magnetized to social media or not has a solution. You must view social media as your friend. While it’s very tempting, you can’t be a hermit and expect people to know about your work. You have to embrace the people who can become your readers, followers, customers, critics, friends and even your best teachers by putting yourself out there.

Most importantly, regardless of what happens “out there” in the social media sphere, you have to have one commitment to yourself: BE DISCIPLINED. You need to do the work to take you forward and up and you have let yourself be seen.

How to Be Prepared to Provide Value when Your Audience Listens to You

Some great strategies that you can set in place so that you are as effective in your day as possible and as confident in your message as you can be are to:

1) Identify what Natalie Sisson affectionately calls your MIA for the day (Most Important Actions). Cool, it rhymes! MIA for the day. In other words, ask yourself: what are the 3 most important things that you have to complete that day?

• Write them down, preferably in Penzu, an online journal that you can use to keep your journal safe in the cloud. There is a free version and a paid version that offers special customizations. By clicking the link above, you’ll be able to get 20% off the Penzu Pro $19.00 per year membership and have it come out to about $15.20. So for a little bit more than $1.00 a month, $1.27 exactly, you’ll have a journal that you can access anywhere, including your mobile devices.
• Once you’ve written your three MIAs for the day, like the sun shining its bright light through a magnifying glass, make sure to focus on those 3 things until you tear them up (a.k.a. accomplish them). You’re allowed to do nothing else until you are finished with those three things. Rest assured, it can feel like a punishment at first, but really, accomplishing those three things will make you feel like your day is totally flowing and you’re on track.
• At the end of the day, write down what your three MIAs will be for the following day. That way, when you start your work day, you know exactly what you have to get done as you’ve review your MIAs at the end of the word day each evening and the beginning of your workday each morning. This will definitely help you build momentum and focus.

2) Get help focusing. From time to time, all of us have trouble focusing on what we need to focus on. However, just like when you have a trainer, parent, friend or coach by your side, if you are told to take baby steps and are held accountable for doing so, you won’t be as prone to finding a task as daunting. Tomato Timer is an excellent tool for holding yourself accountable for 25 minutes of uninterrupted doing.

• You visit the site, you start the timer in Pomodoro mode
• You work nonstop on your task
• After the timer goes off (and rest assured it will),
• You reward yourself by taking a short break to get your blood and energy flowing
• After your little break, you come back to continue working for another 25 minutes using the Tomato Timer
• Repeat this process however many times is necessary.

You can even enable the Tomato Timer desktop alerts on Google Chrome so that a pop-up window appears unobtrusively but noticeably on the upper right hand corner of your screen so that you know when you can get up and at least stretch.

Another tip that you should look into for increasing your productivity level is to evaluate your personal noise preference or tolerance.

• Do you work better when your in a silent atmosphere?
• Do you prefer to listen to your favorite tunes while working? (iTunes and Pandora are great sources for pleasant musical entertainment)
• Or do you find that ambient/classical music does wonders for you? Focus@will is an excellent site for playing calm music to help ease you through your to-do list as painlessly as possible.

3) Identify when you are more productive and produce your most vigorous work during this time. If you’re a morning person, be prepared to wake up earlier to have a greater amount of blocked time to be as productive as possible.

4) Create your schedule based on these premises so that you can squeeze your sweetest and best work out of yourself when you are “fuller” instead of when you’re running on empty.

Time to Show You Treasure these Tips

Who is your target market, which social media sites should you be focusing on and why?

What tips will you use to allow you to focus on bringing the best value to your site which you can then share via your chosen social media platforms?

Which resources that I recommended did you like and will you share with others?

Please leave an answer to your response in the comment section below. And if you find that the resources and tips shared here are of value, please “Like,” “Tweet,” “Pin,” email or Share with your circles. After all, you know yourself, your friends, your customers better than I do and can identify where they are so that they are better than I can. Thanks for stopping by, but please, go out today and be of true service to others by sharing the talents that you know you have and shouldn’t be afraid to share.

 

How Can You Learn to Use Social Media to the Best of Your Advantage and at the Same Time, Help your Business Grow?

Do you often wonder what the best course of action is to make your time invested in social media worthwhile for you and your following? You are certainly not alone. Today I’m super excited to be starting off the 10 Day Social Media Challenge graciously hosted by Natalie Sisson. I would highly recommend that you join me in this journey because there is always something I can learn from my favorite social media guru, Natalie Sisson.

While I may not have all the answers for how to be effective and efficient when it comes to social media, I would like to share what I’ve found so far.

It Doesn’t matter if You Want to Make Your Tweets Tweetable, Your Facebook Posts Likeable or Grow Your Google+ Circles… you must Interact with People as You would in a Get-together”

While it is not a secret that social media can help you grow your business, it is important to know that social media, is really not about your opportunity to stand in your soap-box and yack about your products. Rather, it’s the opportunity for you to learn from the world to be able to serve them better.

You would think that more is more for companies like McDonalds to continue to make the millions that they’re making, but according to Rick Mulready, McDonalds has found that it only needs to Tweet once every four days. Why? Because its followers don’t want to hear more from McDonalds via Tweets. You can learn more about this by following the interview he had with Natalie by visiting the TSE56 iTunes podcast.

Five Ways I can Improve My Online Presence and You can too:

1) Attend Hootsuite seminar to learn how to make better use of this tool. I would like to see how I can automate posts to social media so that my presence is consistent and purposeful.

2) Apply for Google + and start seeing how I can make good use of it.

3) Identify which of Natalie’s online media tools from her social media recommended tools can help me better improve my online presence and apply them.

4) I would like to have a list of people who I want to reach out to, to say a simple thank you, to compliment, to praise, to retweet, to learn more about or to blog post on. Establishing relationships is what is key. I will keep this list on a Google Drive spreadsheet because it’s a safe and accessible place to add this information to. You can access this feature by clicking on “Drive” if you already have a Google Apps or Gmail account. If not, learn more about Google Drive and sign up.

5) I would like to automate posts and interact my social media contacts at a time that works best for my following. I would like to modify my personal schedule and my momentum to increase productivity and efficacy. As a matter of fact, I will include reminders of when to add things on my Google Calendar so that I am consistent with this task.

You Are the Leader

While there are many online tools out there, it is important to always consider your audience, your brand, your following and your successes. What may work for you may or may not work for me and vice versa.

No matter how great your content and strategy is already, please note that there is always room for improvement. For example, have you capitalized on the different learning modalities by creating a podcast? If not, you can learn how to create awesome podcasts by learning from Natalie’s “How To Start a Podcast that Matters” ebook, which you can obtain for free by subscribing to Natalie’s podcast, listening to a few, leaving a review, providing her with the contact details for that review and receiving this ebook in your inbox simply by following the instructions on this page.

Making Sure You Follow Up with What You Treasure

• What are three ways you can improve your current social media strategy today?
• How do you plan on making these changes?

Please leave your comments below. Furthermore, if you find that this article can be beneficial for anybody you know, please feel free to share it via any of the available social media platforms.