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Wordless Wednesday – An Early Spring
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Monthly Archives: February 2012
Social Media Promotion
Ever wondered what your audience, friends or followers are up to, do or the reason behind what they do in Social Media? I am doing this post to help you convey those answers and all you have to do is fill in the blank which in return promotes yourself. I will also be including a couple questions not related to Social Media. Have fun and enjoy.
- The reason I blog is _____.
- My top priority in Social Media is _____.
- The top trait I look for in my audience and followers is _____.
- I consider ______ to be my biggest fear.
- When I expand my network, I _____.
- If I had to brand myself using 3 words they would be _____.
- My job in Social Media is to _____.
- My personality is _____.
- My favorite social online game is _____ because _____.
- When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is _____.
- When I think of value in Social Media, I think of ______.
- By using Social Media, my business has ________.
Hope you have enjoyed answering the questions by filling in the blank. The purpose is for me to get to know you better and others as well. At the same time, the purpose of the post is a great way to keep you engaged and connected. In a comment, pick at least 1 question and complete. Until next time, happy blogging.
Is Social Media Use During Travel The Norm?
Checking into Foursquare, posting a status update on Facebook or sharing in 140 characters or less on Twitter is the norm today for an individual when traveling. Why is it the norm? In a Sun Sentinel article, Jennifer Polaro from Albany, NY states why this is true by saying, “I want to be connected with my hometown. I need to know what is going on. I have friends on cruises who are doing the same thing. You can’t break away.”
The article continues on to give reason why many vacationers use social media by saying, “Many visitors find it hard to disconnect during vacation because they feel social (media) pressure to let their friends and followers know what they’re doing and where they’re doing it.”
I agree with the above statement but their are many other reasons why. In addition to visitors feeling social (media) pressure, the use of social media during travel is a way to grow their travel brand and blog, being loyal to their audience and fulfilling an obligation.
- Travel Brand, Blog – Sharing content while on vacation is a way to gain feedback from the audience so you know what to share on your travel website or blog resulting in exposure and growth.
- Being loyal – Months before traveling, an individual shares they are traveling to a certain place. When this is conveyed, their audience expresses interest. Social Media is all about what your audience wants to see or hear about. We must remain loyal and deliver as this is a way to gain trust and influence.
- Obligation – Often many times, a certain hotel, resort, etc will invite a traveler down in exchange for promotion in real time which means sharing pictures and other content as you experience it. To keep our character and credibility intact, we must abide and fulfill our end of the deal.
Social Media use during travel goes beyond checking in to see what’s going on back home and feeling pressure from social media friends and followers. In fact, it’s a job to 1000′s in the travel industry and a way to live their passion resulting in social media use during travel. Not only is it a job to many but it’s advertising for the place we travel to, a chance to showcase creativity, be authentic and build relationship’s with travel brands.
So, is social media use during travel the norm for you? If so, why?
Personality as a Brand
When we all meet someone the personality they entail says a lot about what kind of person they are. The same holds true for a brand. It is very important as a brand to have personality. The reason this is true is because when people are looking to connect with a brand they look for an aspect about the brand that makes them feel comfortable and want to build a relationship with. Basically, your brands personality is whats perceived by others meaning your audience and consumers.
When developing the personality of your brand ask yourself a couple questions that will aid you in developing the right one that will encompass a positive impact.
- Who am I? What kind of results do I want to see?
- Is my brand one that everyone wants to connect with or am I trying to target a specific audience?
- Does my personality fit my brand identity and is it strong enough to make a lasting impression?
- How do I want to be perceived by my customers and audience?
- Does my personality define me?
- If my brand were human what would be my characteristics?
Once you develop your brand personality, the marketing strategy aspect of your brand becomes somewhat easier to create. Make sure all departments of your brand are working together as a team and agree as a team to make this happen. I have seen many brands fail when trying to develop a personality because they fail to work as a team which leads to a lot of chaos, disagreement and disaster.
So sit down with all departments of your brand and ask each other, “Are we being perceived in a way that makes us successful?” During the meeting with all departments, be sure to develop a set of social media guidelines or principles to help guide employees when carrying out tasks and communicating “as the brand”. If your brand is not being perceived as being successful take into consideration what I have talked about and start developing the visual personification your brand deserves. After all, personality can say a thousand words about who we are as brand.
Does Your Content Have Power?
As we all know, content is King and helps define why we blog, use Twitter and Facebook. It is important to create our content to encompass our niche and give your audience the information they are looking for.
A great way to help you decide if your content is being developed in a positive way is to ask yourself , “Is my content valuable with direction?”
Below I will share 6 ways to ensure that your content is valuable and directional.
- Make your content powerful and strong enough for someone to want to share it
- Use content that is up to date
- Stick with content you understand and believe in. No need to impress someone in a fake way.
- Use detailed content, paint a picture with words. Just because we know what it means doesn’t mean everyone else does.
- Use web links that are informative and reliable
- Content that steers someone in the right direction of success
The main point I am trying to convey is when developing content develop it in a way that everyone understands and sees worth in to help give them answers and information they are looking for. If you do this you will gain trust and keep your audience engaged and coming back for more.
Always remember to never step outside your comfort zone in creating content. It’s not who your are and your audience will sense it. For example, If you’re niche and audience revolves around content that helps a grocery shopper become more savvy using coupons, they may not want to hear about how is the best way to please a man or woman in bed.
If looking to expand your content to encompass another topic, ask your audience if it’s something they are interested in. Do this by just asking the question, creating a poll or even creating a blog post.
Don’t get me wrong. It is okay to occasionally share content that you may find funny or relaxing. After all, we all need a good laugh or a day to unwind.
Content is powerful as a King. It not only helps us grow as a person but helps us see success and grow as a whole. Just remember to embrace your power when developing content. If we do, we all become a winner.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Also, feel free to add in a comment what you may think I left out.