As I slowly make that dumbfounded leap into the social graces of the network I am amazed at how little I thought I knew. Hashtags, acronyms, chat room etiquette, Hangouts, branding, guest blogging and the list goes on and on. I’m equally amazed at how deep the social engaging goes throughout the network community. I’m finding I don’t have to leap very far to get started on extending my social reach. It’s as simple as starting to engage differently in the forums I’m in but also the ones I may have thrown aside; assuming that the forum lacked a brain-stem in all its tech fancy buttons, gadgets, widgets and poking notifications.
Do you know me well enough to poke me?
I still don’t understand the need to virtually poke at me. I, at first, assumed it was a way to get my attention – to converse on some level – but apparently not; none of the pokers ever responded to my emails or posts?! I’m a little suspicious that my heathens, or any heathen for that matter, made this little annoying button. It’s right on par with doorbell ring and running.
But fear not my fellow newbies to the social network sphere! Getting caught up to speed on the actual power of the networking community and, of course, overcoming old perceptions and acquiring new ones isn’t nearly as painful as being subject to ridiculous status updates.
My first step was joining a Hangout just as I was getting familiar with Google+. Webcams have never been a tool I have ever utilized or have been able to envision a usefulness for outside of seeing family members that I have moved thousands of miles away from. But, to my brilliant surprise, it personalized my connection the same way as if I met these people face to face. So, now I don’t just have followers or circles that comment back and forth with me but tangible friendships; making navigating through the Internet maze and all its complexities enticing rather than overwhelming. I recently did an on air hangout with Saul, discussing twitter engagement.
I used to engage in Twitter like this
S/O @osakasaul
S/O @ritetag
S/O @somebodyelsewhomentionedme
Why the hell am I shouting out to these people?
This is useful, how? But learning how to post the content I want to share in order to learn how to properly engage on Twitter will make the tweeting experience much different than what I’ve experienced , according toSaul. Or will it?
So, I’m going to put it to the test using my personal blog and Saul’s infinite wisdom on networking. I’m going to revamp my Twitter account and fix a few things suggested to me in my blog. My goal is to increase my followers and re-shares by at least 50 in two weeks. Now I’ll add that I have no idea if that is an adequate number to shoot for or a laughable one but I’m a newbie and to newbie eyes it looks reasonable. In the meantime I’ll update my progress here once a week, in full detail, including any bitching or grievances I know I’ll have throughout the process as well as any advice passed on by the masters.
For those of you painstakingly Google-searching your fingers to death on how, when, and where to begin Social Media Marketing without your eyes going cross come join us in a G+ Hangout or two.
Try us - Saul and I give good hang.
About Megan RoseCommunity manager and brand strategist for emerging tech start-ups Tough love, practical and scale-able solutions that find the fun in making a success of new businesses.
