Monday, February 27, 2012

GUEST POST - You Lost Me at Google+

Julie Geller – RDM Partner, Social Media Strategist
Julie has spent twelve years in the digital marketing space. Her background has allowed her to develop strong skills in strategic planning, preparing and implementing social media governance models, building and sustaining community, reporting and stakeholder management. A skilled social media strategist, Julie has experience providing direction for mid to large-scale online marketing programs. She has worked on social media initiatives for multiple business verticals, including broadcast, retail, IT, natural health, financial, education, automotive and not-for-profit.




Okay, so you wake up in the morning and log on to your RSS reader. You promote some content on your social properties and feel pretty good about yourself.

Then, you check your Klout score. You’ve dropped one point. One point?! The mental breakdown begins.

Am I a loser? What are my friends’ scores? Did I update Facebook enough yesterday? How’s my pinboard looking? Did I tweet, or just retweet? Do I have a POV? What social networks am I missing?

At this point, you’ve lost your grip on the fun and engagement of social media and descended into social’s daily drudgery — staying ahead of the competition. There’s never enough time to keep up. It’s all just so friggin’ overwhelming.

Panic only breeds panic. So take a deep breath, have a coffee, think and contribute. The answers are surprisingly simple.

Make friends with your RSS reader. Sounds like old news? It’s not. Continually edit and add to the sources you follow to keep things fresh. Ask your friends and family to share their favourite sources. Look for automated “if you like this, you’ll love that” recos and get them working for you.

Remember frequency. Make a point of sharing your commentary at least three to five stories each day. This will help you get into a daily groove, and it will build a following of people who will count on seeing your content.

Develop a point of view (POV). Don’t make the mistake of only retweeting. Let go of your fear of judgment and assert a POV. Ask yourself: Why do I want to share this content? What’s one valuable point I can focus on from this article? Is there a larger issue that I can use to drive broader engagement? Should I target a segment of my followers? What do I think of the author’s POV? If you’re still not inspired, seize the opportunity to respectfully counter with a witty short statement.


Participate only in the social networks you find valuable. The competition breathing down your neck isn’t worried about “belonging.” Make a resolution to stop being part of the 99%. Yes, you want to be responsive to what people are saying, but forget the quantity and focus on quality.

Crazy simple, right? In no time, you’ll gain followers, increase your influence and restore your mental health.

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