I’ve been working on a bunch of stuff lately and I noticed that my social engagements on sites like Twitter went down a bit. I didn’t really notice it until I went a full day without updating on Twitter. I know there is nothing wrong with that. I’m not one of those types that likes to be on there just for the sake of being on there. To me it has never been about the numbers (followers, fans), the popularity (being at every local gathering) or other metrics. I use social media because it’s really fun being social through the Internet.
Recently as I’ve been working with a potential new opportunity, I was asked how to do social media. My answer was really simple. Be naturally social. In this new media nothing should be forced. Otherwise, when you force it, the whole effort will come across as fake. No one likes it when its fake. Its like running into a salesman pushing their new cleaning agent at a birthday party. Not desirable.
Now going back to what I mean about being naturally social, I mean you just adapt your work and lifestyle so you can seamlessly become socially active online. For instance, if you have a blog and you’re worried about generating enough content then you’re not doing it as well as you could. As you go about your day carry a camera around with you and take pictures. Post them on your Flickr account. If you also happen to be traveling, email yourself a summary of each day. Then when you get back in front of the computer, pull up your emails and your pictures. Put them together and you have a blog post. Simple and raw. And don’t worry about the length of your blog post, how you might come across and things like that. If you’re you then you’ll be you as you are social.
At the end of the day social media shouldn’t be about adding another layer on top of your already busy schedule. Otherwise it’s not worth it.
Creative Commons License. Photo credit: ketrin1407
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