Tag: Social Media

Leveraging Blogging

October 21, 2010 / / 6 Comments

I don’t write my blog posts so that I would hit the Top 100 Christian blogs (though I do love the stuff that Kent, at ChurchRelevance.com puts out).  I write them because I process things externally.  The best way I work out my thoughts is to put them out publicly for people to see and critique.

It’s just how I’m wired.

Which means that this blog benefits me more than it will ever benefit someone else.

But, since I’m writing it on a consistent basis, I thought it prudent to leverage the platform to the best of my abilities.  So here’s some suggestions I’ve got for you if you care to leverage the power of blogging.

Leveraging your blogging platform

1. Consistently write posts. Don’t let weeks or months go by without a post.  You gain influence through consistent posting.  Even if it’s once/week, consistency is important.

2. Write substantive posts. Deal with real issues that people face.  Answer questions people are asking.  Dig into issues that are important.  Pictures are great…but if you want to leverage influence, put some substance in there.

3. End your posts with a question. I always try to invite dialog, because I am not simply trying to broadcast information.  My aim isn’t to put together a good monologue.  I want criticisms, questions, comments…and I’ve found that others want the ability to chime in.  Ending my posts with a question help people know how to best jump in the discussion.

4. Make your posts shorter. My rule of thumb is to keep my posts less than 500 words.  I know that if I get over 500 words, I lose people’s attention.  So I try to get rid of the fluff, and get right to the meat of what I’m trying to say.

5. Read other blogs and comment on them. Engaging others on their turf, on their platform, is a great way to interact.  And if your goal is to leverage influence through blogging, this is a great way to do it.

6. Connect your ideas through other social networking platforms. Broadcast updates through Twitter and Facebook.  Add your info to Networked Blogs.  To PostRank (see my thoughts HERE on measuring success by social engagement).

7. Move beyond the screen. Don’t let interaction stop at the comments section of your blog.  Schedule up a face-to-face conversation.  Get a TokBox going.  A great value of social media is that it can get you further relationally with those you’re developing a network with online.

What am I missing?  Would you add anything to this list?

Have you worked on any of these things?  Any success?

 

Twitter vs Facebook

July 24, 2010 / / 5 Comments

I have found great benefit in social media.  I’ve written about social networking HERE.  Primarily, I use Twitter (you can follow me HERE) and Facebook (you can follow me HERE) when it comes to sharing short bits of information.  Right now, though I find great benefit in both, I much prefer Twitter to Facebook.  Why?

5 Reasons I prefer Twitter over Facebook:

1. It’s quicker. Facebook takes a lot of time.  When you read a status update, especially one that you like, you feel the need to read all of the comments.  Then you find a friend that you haven’t talked to in a while, and you click on their page.  And find a status update…and the cycle continues.  Facebook can quickly become a never-ending pit of time-wasting.

2. It’s more information-driven. I’m a “learner” (according to Strengths Finder), so I love gathering information.  Twitter is a great tool to share news and ideas quickly and efficiently (especially because it’s limited to 140 characters).

3. There’s no Farmville. Or Mobster.  Or Cafe World.  Or Treasure Isle.  I just can’t get myself excited about that stuff.

4. There’s no poking. I’ve been poked by somebody.  Seriously.  I just looked at my Facebook page.  And I have no idea what that means, why they poked me, or what I should do in return.

5. With Twitter, you can reach well beyond your circle of friends. On Facebook, for us to interact, you have to accept my friend request before I can see anything that you’ve shared.  Facebook seems to me to be designed for you to interact with people that you personally know.  Twitter is built for interaction with a broader audience.

What about you?  Do you prefer Twitter or Facebook?

 

9 Ways to Increase Your Twitter Influence

February 15, 2010 / / 1 Comment

Perform a Google Search for “How to Increase your Twitter Follwers” and you get plenty of websites/services to follow.

Many of these are services, where you opt in to following 10 people then auto-following everybody else back, guarantee that you’ll have 20,000 Twitter followers in 30 days.

Others give ways to buy Twitter followers.  I’m not kidding.  For only $87, this site will get you 1,000 new followers.

Other sites tell you things you need to do with your Twitter account, such as making sure to fill out your bio section, learning the language of Twitter (Reply, Retweet, Direct Message, hashtags, etc.), and following the people who update about things you want to read. (these are all good things, and should be done, but they’re not what I’m focusing on in this post)

But my goal in using Twitter isn’t to have more and more followers.

I would much rather have influence than followers.  Because followers often represent people who aren’t listening, but are merely speaking.  They don’t care anything about what you have to say…they just use Twitter as a platform to get the word out about their business/life/hobby.

If you want to increase your followers quickly, it will cost you $87.

If you want to build your influence, it’s a little tougher and takes longer.

(If you need a refresher on the language of Twitter, read my post HERE.  If you need some reasons to start Twittering, click HERE.  If you have no idea what Twitter is, click HERE.)

9 Ways to Increase your Twitter Influence

1. Be authentic. Give people a snapshot into who you are.  What makes you tick?  What do you enjoy?  What unique angle/wisdom can you give on an event that you’re attending?  A book that you’re reading?  A blog that you follow?

2. Share helpful content. If your posts only benefit you and your dog, people probably will tune out after a short period.  For example, I’m a small groups pastor, so I try to post content that applies in my field.  I try to be authentic, but I make sure the content is broadly applicable whether you live in Tennessee or California.  Whether you’re young or old.  Whether you go to my church or meet in a house church.

3. Invite conversation. Try to phrase some of your updates in a way that invites others to join in the conversation.  Pose a question.  Leave your update open where others can share their thoughts, opinions, and disagreements.  If it’s broadly applicable, helpful, and uniquely you, others will want to join in.

4. Post consistently. If you only post occasionally, people will tune out.  If you only post once/week, you’ll never show up in your follower’s timelines (because they’re based on the latest posts), and people will never see your updates.

5. Create conversation with others. I’m making a distinction here from #3, above.  Creating conversation means that you reply to others.  Retweet things you find important, inspirational, helpful.  Continue the dialog with others.

6. Don’t post only facts. When you have a conversation with someone, do you merely share facts with one another?  If you do, your friendship will quickly dry up.

7. Respond timely. If you’re consistently putting helpful information out there in a way that invites conversation, you will inevitably receive replies to your updates.  Make sure to thank those who are spreading your ideas.  And do it in a timely manner.  Also, if someone sends you a Direct Message, try as much as possible to respond in a timely manner (I use the 24-hour rule on any email sent to my inbox).

8. Give some link love. If you read an article, or a blog post, that you think may be of interest to others, share a link and give credit to the person that wrote it (by using their Twitter handle).  You may not see this as a way to boost your influence, but trust me…sharing links gives encouragement to others, and helps to give you credibility among those who follow you.

9. Be careful what you post. A tweet is forever.  What you post today will be visible for years to come.  Influencers have the future in mind with the things that they say and do.

Isn’t it the same in all of life?  Gaining influence is much more difficult than merely having a platform for your opinions.  You can go to the local mall and scream out your thoughts…but likely nobody will listen.

Working to gain the respect and trust of people is a much harder, and longer, process.

But in the end, I think it’s worth it.

 

The end of email?

June 1, 2009 / / 10 Comments

Email in InboxI’m a small groups pastor, and the major way I communicate with small group leaders outside of Sunday morning is via email.  I’d love to be able to have coffee with all of them regularly (because they’re some of my favorite people), but it’s just not possible.  With the fast-paced nature of our society, and our group leaders in particular, combined with my own personally busy schedule, the ability to communicate important information to multiple people at once is essential.

When I communicate via email, much of the information I send out is never read.  In fact, one of the guys on staff (who will remain unnamed) told me that if my email is more than one line long, he won’t read it!  I could get upset about this, take it personally, and require group leaders to read the weekly (though it’s more like bi-weekly) emails.  But you and I both know that that approach would not lead to increased reading and response to this important information.

I’ve tried vastly shortening my emails.  Now, instead of a devotion before the “important” stuff, I start with “Here are the vitals you and your group need to know…”  I give them a list of a few major things, and that’s it.  But still, the emails are not being read.  Why?

Why my emails (and yours) aren’t being read:

1. Their inbox is already full of other important information.  My email is 1 of 1000 that they “have” to read.

2. It takes thought to read emails.  Reading my emails is not always mindless, because they need to read and process the information for their group.

3. My emails are boring.  Since I’ve pared them down to only vital information, they’re pretty boring.  Concise? Yes.  Thrilling? Not even by a long shot.

4. “I’ll read it later.”

__________________________________________________________________________

So are we seeing the end of email?  Maybe.  Email is boring and lifeless.  It’s often filled with spam, and forwards that we don’t want to read.  We get mass emails and “reply all” messages that don’t pertain to us, and our inbox rarely reaches zero.  The rest of the world has taken massive leaps forward in terms of communicating, yet email still seems to lag behind in black & white letters and numbers.

I’ve begun utilizing Twitter and Facebook to communicate with my team.  Both of these platforms integrate networking with information sharing.  Communication moves from the mere passing of information into the realm of knowing somebody better.  I put a face with a name in Facebook.  I get a snapshot of a person’s life (at least what they want the public world to see) in Twitter.  That’s where lots of the group leaders at Grace Community Church “hang out,” so that’s where I’m going to communicate.

I have recently begun using The Flip video camera.  I’ve really liked the ease of use, because I can throw it in my bag and have it ready to catch the many things that my wife and I don’t want to miss our son doing.  In addition to family videos, I’ve begun using it to shoot some videos for our small groups.  I have a lower quality version, but there are even some new, HD models of the Flip available.  At the end of the day, I’d sacrifice video quality for ease of use.  Based on the response of my small group leaders, they’d much prefer watching me yack on a video than reading it.

Is email dead?  I think it’s being quickly outpaced by lots of other mediums.

How do you communicate?  What medium to you prefer?  Maybe, more importantly, which mediums do “your people” prefer?

Here’s the video I sent to my small group leaders.  It’s not the best video you’ve ever seen, but I know that more people watched it than normally read my emails:

 

2008 Most Helpful Social Networking Tool

December 31, 2008 / / 2 Comments

Have you been able to utilize social networking tools (see video below) to build relationships and connect with a variety of people this year? What do you use them for? I’ve posted here and here on why I use Twitter. Do you use social networking sites at all?

Help me out by answering the poll question:

If you’re not sure what social networking is, check out the video below:

 

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