Writer's Block Leads to Social Break Through -

Tonight I wasn’t really sure what I was going to write about, I sort of had writer’s block.  So, I started checking my social media sites and getting caught up on my email.  I checked Facebook, Google+, Twitter, WordPress etc.  Then I ran into 4 different articles on “how to properly use Twitter”.  Now I must admit my first instinct was to say to myself “it is common sense, isn’t it?”  

It is a social media – you be social?  Then I got to thinking about it and realized, I suppose it isn’t as easy as all that.  There are many people on Twitter who post “ads” several times a day and nothing else but these spam style posts to advertise their business.  Then there are others who all they do is reblog other’s posts.  Very rarely do I actually see anyone ask a question or respond in kind to a reblog of their posts – I.E. being social.

Now I must admit you aren’t going to get people responding to your posts right away if you ask questions.  Most likely they won’t know your there, you will be like the shy little kid in the corner who has their hand half in the air and squeaks out, “excuse me”, while the rest of the class is screaming and shouting at the top of their lungs.

The secret to engagement is to start by listening. What is your market talking about? Once you know that, you can work out what can you bring to the party to make the “popular kids” listen. When you quite down and start to listen, you will most likely see a lot of spam. Don’t be put off, and don’t fall in with the bad crowd. Seek out those relevant conversations that fit in with your business and what you are marketing. Talk to people who need help and
advice. Try searching Twitter for terms related to your industry. Follow at least a dozen of the  ones you feel are the most popular Twitter accounts and check the feed regularly. Stay attentive to those popular “kids” they like the attention.  With the extra activities you will soon get a feel for what people are talking about and retweeting. If you need a little help finding out who the big guns are, try entering your terms on Tweetreach.com, Topsy.com or Icerocket.com these are all social search (the gossip tree) tools and are all free.

Remember, once you start to get popular and get followers, you will want to interact with your followers in a natural way. Instead of posting advertisements, special offers and sweepstakes, start by asking questions to get the conversation to flow. Then keep it going. A good rule of thumb to remember is engage your followers more than you curate, in one of the articles I read this evening a good percentage would be 85% engagement to
15% curation. Good way to start engagements is to ask questions. Questions can also be a great way to demonstrate a helpful attitude and build up authority.  -  be helpful or be interesting! Remember that 85 / 15 rule, will this is where it comes in -  spend about 85% of your time actually engaging your followers by asking questions  keeping the conversations going; while the other 15% (curation) can be used to share articles of interest.

Now when posting you will see lots of hashtags!! That is because Twitter is the number one social media site that plays host to specialized conversations marked out with hashtags. Some of these relate to offline events or webinars and others are scheduled, regular chat sessions. For example, you tweeted about a conference and you #hashtag the conference title/name. But, hash tags can be OVER done and become spammy! Don’t just #hashtag #everything in your #tweets – take the time to seek out the right niches. Read and reply to other tweets that contain a hashtag of interest, they be a great way to make friends and influence people.

You could also be that hero, the friend, and search out the people looking for help and advice – the ones who are posting the questions, within your field!

Start up a conversation with them and help them with their question then keep the conversation going by being helpful and interesting again!

By all means do not be one of the posters who posts 15 or more posts a day!  This becomes spam and people, even those who choose to follow you, may end up muting your thread!  A good number of posts are 5 to 6 and change them up enough – ask a question, post a helpful articule and engage with others.  Another good thing to do is retweet your followers content, again 3-4 a day is a great number, so switch it up through out depending on how many followers you have.   

Also, remember your manners! Take the time to thank your followers for sharing, retweeting and curating your content. Twitter users don’t have to share content if they don’t want to, so it is always great when they do, and I guarantee that if you remember your manners they will be more likely to share more. Besides they took time out of their busy day to share your content and in the process telling the world your product/content is awesome enough to share it, doesn’t it make sense to thank them for sharing?

Summarize:  Stop -> Listen -> 85 – 15  rule -> Golden rule: be helpful, be interesting, and remember your manners!!!

Until Next Time; Safe Surfing, Healthy Marketing, and Many Blessings:

Trinton “TrinityHawk” Garrett
trintonkitra@saferforyourhome.com
http://worksmartwny.com?affiliates=17

https://www.facebook.com/GoGreenWny

https://www.facebook.com/Trinton.TrinityHawk

http://www.trinityhawkphotography.com

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