Tag: wise use of 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?

 

A Creepy Email

June 24, 2009 / / 0 Comments

I received an email today from a store that I shopped at just a couple of weeks ago.  For the record, I never logged in and told them what I purchased.  This email was sent unsolicited 2 weeks after the purchase.  Here’s the email:

Picture 1

I’ve got two thoughts from this:

1. Nothing is private. Not that we can hide anything from God anyway (see Psalm 139:7-13 for further proof of that), but anytime you use your credit card, that information can be tracked.  Any time you post a picture on Facebook, it’s there permanently.  Any blog post I write is public information, and is representative of me.  I can continue to feel weird about this, or I can wisely use social media and blogging to my advantage.  I choose the latter.

So, be careful what you place online.  It is “tracked” by those you lead and by those you are doing life with.  It is a representative of you, whether you like it or not, and will continue to represent you in the future.  It’s public and permanent.  Make sure that, when you post something online, you ask yourself the question, “Will I be proud of this in 5 years?”

2. Polling those you lead is important. At some level, I feel valued by this organization (represented in the email above).  I feel like I have a voice with them.  They give me the freedom, in my response, to say that I hated what I bought…or that I loved it.  I strangely feel empowered, and that my voice counts for something.  If I say that I hated it, they really may rethink putting that item on the shelf again (or I could be fooling myself, but for argument’s sake, please let me feel important right now).

If you’re a leader, make yourself vulnerable.  Ask, “Is this working?” and be ready and willing to change things if they’re not functioning like they should (i.e., accomplishing the “end” goal).  Asking for opinions shows that you care what others think, but if you open the door, be ready to walk through it.  Making changes based on feedback shows that you value others’ thoughts and the effectiveness of the organization as a whole.  Asking for feedback and making no changes is a slap to the face of those who shared their thoughts.

As a Christian, and a leader, both of these points resonate with me.  I need to be careful with the way that I live my life, and ready and willing to change our system (see my post about that here) when it’s not making disciples of Christ.

How do they resonate with you?

 

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