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It’s TIME to go SOCIAL!
I believe in social media especially for businesses, it simply works and creates a connection to your most important asset, your customers. Social media can be scary when you don’t know where to begin or don’t have a game plan. So I’m writing this post to help give you some helpful tips on blogging and Twitter, two dynamic social media tools. First let’s take a look at:
Blogging isn’t for everyone or every business, but it gives consumers a view of who you are. Whether you are blogging for personal reasons or for business, a blog is like a window in which a reader can see you and get to know you a little better. Where to begin? How do I start? My first blog post I was nervous too, so here’s some interesting tips to help you begin.
HEADLINE
Author Jeff Goins, gives us a great formula for headline tips in his blog Goins Writer.
Number or Trigger word + Adjective + Keyword + Promise
- A number catches readers attention, making them interested in finding out more. As Goins discusses in his blog an obscure number such as 19 or 37 can catch readers attention.
- The first word of your headline can instantly draw a reader, and a trigger word can help do just that. I found this great list of potential trigger words on Buffer Social, there’s more great lists on there I highly recommend you check out.
The 5 most persuasive words in the English language
- You
- Free
- Because
- Instantly
- New
- An adjective such as Incredible, Essential or Free, will keep the reader hooked to your headline.
- A keyword helps readers come across your site on searches, so think about what readers you want to attract and how you want them to find you.
- A promise gives readers something valuable, a reason to go on and read your blog post.
So instead of, Smokey Eye Makeup try 6 Easy Steps to Create a Smokey Eye For a Night Out.
Time to Blog!
This is where I got super nervous, but I read something that helped me get started and type away. Mark Shaefer put together a comic that helped me get over my fear of blogging.
Here are his 5 Tips to Become a More Confident Blogger:
- Limit the time you work on a post. Don’t over obsess no blog post is going to be perfect, set a time, pick a word count, spell check and publish.
- Re-frame the assignment. Don’t give too much emphasize on the word blogger, just think of it as you are writing a 500 word essay on something you are passionate about.
- Write for yourself. Your readers want to know you and hear your point of view or ideas. Tell YOUR story.
- Take advantage of personal coaching. Talk to another person on your idea for a new post, you might get content or inspiration.
- Put the fear of the negative in context. Don’t worry so much about people giving negative feedback, it hardly happens and if it does it just causes debate and traffic to your blog. Most people are just going to offer support so quit worrying so much.
Now you are ready to blog! Try writing a post and have your friends give you feedback on it if you want to practice.
Tweet Tweet! Twitter is a social media tool used to communicate with others directly, build relationships and network. A book that helped me create a blueprint for my twitter page was The Tao of Twitter by Mark W. Shaefer. He teaches readers all about twitter and walks them through some steps to take to dominate Twitter. Profile First things first, a profile needs to be created, which should include the following:
- A personal photo
- A link to your website
- A biography with your business interests (to help others find you in searches)
- A short easy to remember user name
- A few tweets! Just get started
The author, Schaefer shares his Beginners Regimen, which serves as a good starting game plan for tackling the twitter world. He suggest to try to tweet 3 times a day at different times of the day by following this guideline on what to tweet:
- Some non-work related information you read or heard about.
- News related information on your business or industry.
- Your opinion on something on the news or something funny.
Make sure to try your hardest to check and respond to tweets. Try to tweet during peak hours which is business hours. Be original and be honest but respectful, always keep in mind who you are trying to attract and what they would be attracted to.
What words catch your attention?