7 Social Media Tips for Creating an Online Presence

The Seven Social Media Tips are Finally Here!

I had a chance to sit down with some of my classmates and discuss social media and how to actually create an online presence. Pretty cool stuff--and don't worry, we kept it pretty simple. Take seven minutes for seven tips, you'll be glad you did.

   Check out the podcast here.
  
  Don't feel like listening? Watch it.

OK, guys. Working on the.vid quality, should have a higher res copy up by tomorrow. Enjoy this one for now! 

                                       

Wanna keep it straight-bloggin' style? Read it below. 

1. Keep it separate

2. Research

3. Reach out

4. Quality over quantity

5. Link it

6. Keep it relevant

and finally ...

7. Keep it up

 

1. Keep it separate—but don’t lose your personality!

There are many ways to help keep your personal and private social media life separate:

-update your privacy settings on a consistent basis so that they may fit your specific needs and control your own content, if you would be embarrassed for someone to see what you are advertising, don’t put it up in the first place

However!  Don’t be hesitant to let people get to know the real you, don’t try to hide who you really are because your uniqueness is what will distinguish you from everyone else. 

Jennifer Fong, author of the direct sales and social media blogs, explains how People get to know us when we share a little of our personal lives with them.  And we also get to see into the personal lives of others.  That’s how you build a relationship with people.

And according the Inbound Internet Marketing Blog, "Social media is all about people connecting with people, and so your true personality is bound to come out -- no real point in trying to hide who you are as a person."

2. Research

In any PR class a student takes, research is a topic that is stressed from the beginning to the end. Research acts as the first step many PR practitioners use when it comes to client engagement. Research can make or break a PR campaign, but it can also make or break your reputation in the “online world”. In regards to social media, research can help you know what to write about, who your audience is and where to find them, what key words or tags you should use and which emerging trends you should follow, according to Bill Handys blog over research in social media. If you don’t contruct the proper amount of research, you ultimately know nothing about the topic and sound ignorant in the long run.

3. Reach Out

Now on to tip number three:  Reach Out to Truly connect.

Just putting up a blog or a facebook fan page won’t do much good if visitors sense the flow of conversation goes one way.

Start a conversation on twitter or on facebook, or ask for feedback on your blog. Not to mention, making comments on other blogs.

Matt Mullenweg, founder of blogging platform wordpress, lists not partipating in comments is a surefire way to kill community, so make sure to actively participate in 2-way communication.

Now on to Taylor with tips four and five.

Tip number six is relevance. Relevance is extremely important when it comes to PR. Consumers are bombarded every day with an infinite number of blogs, news stories, etc. Because of this, if something is not relevant, especially in the “online world”, it will be immediately discarded. Irrelevant topics are unimportant, uninteresting and the people that discuss irrelevant topics will eventually have a reputation for doing it and will be forgotten about. Keep up to date with what is going on in the world and with what is important in social media.

And for our final tip for today : Lucky number 7. Keep it up!

Be sure to keep current and relevant on your social media outlets. The popular social media website, Mashable, released a report that discusses how the average internet user spends more than a fifth of their time on social networks and that is on the rise, so there are plenty of people on the net to network with. 

To help with that, try to follow only relevant people. I know its hard not to follow some ridiculous characters like Rob Dyrdek and Drama from MTV’s Fantasy Factory and the Taylor’s favorite: Dunkin' Donuts, but do your best to limit irrelevant tweeple.

Shout me loud dot com offers 101 tips on how to become a social media rock star and number 76 is: Always make sure your tweets offer great value & information. People will me more apt to follow you if you have relevant information.

 Thanks guys!



Did we leave anything off the list? What do you think should have made the cut? Let us know by commenting below! 

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When the World is on the 'Right' Side

Ever have those days where you feel like the world is on your side? I sure do. My best feelings come from my best days; my most worthy experiences, the good times.

But I sometimes wonder: How far 'right' could my quality-of-life meter push if I could treat every experience, whether good or bad, funny or sad, enlightening or demeaning, as if it were a part of something better -- as a part of my 'best days.'

I want to tear down that threshold of having a bad experience equal a bad day, tear it down with a gnawing force that even Team Jacob would have a hard time competing with. *Ggggrrrrrrr, ruff, snaarrllll ... yummm, pigs' ears! 

How much more productive would I be if I could prove that one minute couldn't, and wouldn't, ruin my day? These are necessary questions to ask ourselves -- especially if, like me, you're on the hunt for that *big job, a.k.a.: career.  

*It's my pledge to start-up this thinking process, and more importantly, stick to it. R-E-P-E-T-I-T-I-O-N is key. Repetition is key. *Repe. ..

How though, how in the world is this possible, the weary may ask?

It's keeping a simple reminder of your goals and ambitions on your person at all times. I have a few *favoritas. I keep a special paper clip in my right pocket *like always. If I'm wearing a dress/pocket-less pants, I find the clip a comfy corner in my handbag. Details I won't reveal, but I will say the paperclip and I have an inside joke that keeps me upbeat to a fault -- no matter what 'bad thing' happens, the joy behind that paperclip overwhelms it, and I survive. However, you will never see me singing, "I'm a Survivor" by Destiny's Child; it's just not my style. 

Other thoughts? Photos. What visual stimuli can keep you on your A-game?

Take a look at my some of my favorites that lift my spirit when I'm feelin' blue.

My lovely home in Spain

I actually found this picture online. It's a symbolism of Chilean culture, the colors and architecture. I hope to live here one day soon. I also love doors, to a fault.

Family says it all.

Mi familia espanola.

Mis memorias de Madrid. 

One day soon I hope to see the results of my positively positive actions.





Let's connect on Twitter.

Social Media Killed the Radio/Newspaper/Magazine Star

Social media. These two words are ruling the world. There is nothing we can do to stop it, so the question is, what's next? Social media is affecting many forces, including the public relations, advertising and marketing realms. There are so many ways to describe this process, but until recently, it had never been expressed quite like this.

Oklahoma State University's School of Journalism and Broadcasting recently changed its name and programming. The School of Media and Strategic Communications is what has emerged from this process.

Groundbreaking research and thoughtful planning have resulted in a program that is blatantly refreshing. It's not a trend; it's a sure sign the world is a changin', folks. It really can't get any better than this. This semester's course work encases an Advanced PR Media course, in which we had the opportunity to roll call the strength-in-numbers that is social media.

In Old English, we devised a plan to prove the powers of social media.

Flashmob. That's right. To promote the school and program change, our class utilized the interactive world to prove just how strategically powerful the social community really is.

Here's the breakdown.

Facebook. Gmail. Twitter. Viemo. YouTube.

We were there. You better believe we called in the hairy, older step brother, too.

Traditional media.

Pitch letters. Media releases. Pitch and followup phone calls.

What's left?

Oh, yes, the flashmob itself. Boy, a journey it was: the road winding, the results self-explanatory.

Want more?

Social Media/PR Impact on my Generation

I don't want to get into a psychotic rant about how social media has changed the world. *Duh. You're here, reading my blog. Obviously, that factor I won't bore you with. *Zzzzz.

Instead, I want to discuss the impact of these changes. Readwriteweb.com  let me know that the number of social media job postings on the job site Indeed.com has increased by more than 600 percent since 2005, according to a report by SocialMediaInfluence.com, which tracks social media trends.

*No me digas

This should prompt any upcoming grad to take a few courses in social media before hitting the streets. I am taking a social media course and an advanced public relations media class that require me to utilize social media, practically, all day, every day. Besides lovin’ the social media scene, I’m learning the importance of various social media platforms – beyond Twitter and Facebook.

Queried social media, and just how many Google results? 640,000,000. And the top website? Wikipedia. If you weren't aware, Wikipedia can be edited by anyone with computer access *Although this is not advisable,* as one of the world's largest sharing platforms.*Provin' my point.

Just don’t expect this knowledge to be a shoe-in for that fantasy job. Rather, as a supplement to your public relations expertise.

If you want a specifically tailored social media job, be wary: Social media jobs don't pay as well as similar positions in public relations, according to SocialMediaInfluence.com. *Thanks, again, readwriteweb.com.

In 140 characters or less, social media is a must and a plus, just not the bottom line. Now get to tweetin’.