Let's see:
My closest girlfriend called me in the hospital after her epidural.
My super gets excited when I have something in my apartment that needs fixing.
I don't have any impending lawsuits.
Family reunions revolve around me and my schedule.
One of my ex's wrote a book about me.
Sometimes I have more than one birthday dinner in an evening.
I don't get heckled very much during my speaking engagements.
I have a statue that says "World's Greatest Friend" that an acquaintance gave me.
I am very popular. People love me, right? Could I be the most interesting woman in the world? Maybe, but not online. Once upon a short time ago my social profile read: "@Brandinista: 257 Twitter Followers + 522 Facebook Friends."
I know who I am in real life, but online, I stumbled. Overly self-conscious, I agonized over every post and tweet. And it showed. Even though I can guide my clients like Doctors Without Borders to social media success, doing it for yourself is a whole other set of obstacles. You can't listen to your own mantras. You need another voice -- one that chooses different words to set it straight. Last night at the "Finding Your Digital Voice" seminar at Soho House New York, Chris Dannen, Senior Editor and Lead Technology Editor, Fastcompany, enlightened the audience with 90 minutes of the most articulate lessons on social media. I wish I knew him a couple years ago. Although there were many tips in Chris's workshop, here is my top ten curated list:
10. Why you are talking online
You want to resonate with people and change the way people think. You want to express your overarching point of view on life and every post should tie, somehow, to this overall and unique perspective of yours.
9. Why people are listening online
The phenomena, FOMO (fear of missing out), drives people to click. And click. And click. They are waiting to hit the content jackpot and find useful information.
8. What people click on most Part 1
People click on things that optimize their "algorithms." Meaning the dynamic things they learn everyday that cause them to act. Like the weather. Or a diet. They click on things that affect their personal algorithm.
7. What people click on most Part 2
People's content appetite is insatiable and they will click on anything, but unless it is interesting, they will not return. The point is that people will click if you post authentic content.
6. Your posting consciousness Part 1
Your posts and tweets should have a "behind the scenes" quality. They should feel like your audience is getting a peek into your life.
5. Your posting consciousness Part 2
Show the extremes of your personality. Don't hold back. The idea is to be polarizing to generate real conversations.
4. What you should post Part 1
Don't post offers or events often, post relevant and useful content that will help people get to know you. Find ways to connect your point of view, your reason for being with the news cycle. Everything you post should speak to your overarching point of view.
3. What you should post Part 2
In addition to those behind the scenes items related to your overarching point of view, your conversation, but you can also remix and retweet news items and react to things people are talking about in your feed. Don't just post, engage.
2. When you should post
Mondays are the highest traffic day and traffic decreases as the week progresses. Use tools like Buffer to schedule tweets and Tweriod to post during peak hours. You can do your scheduling on Sundays.
1. When you should give up. Umm, never.
Building social influence, whether for a brand or yourself, requires discipline and focus. It's exactly like the gym. You won't see results in a week or two. Design a good 12-week program and stick to it.
Let me know if these tips were helpful. There, you have it. Follow Chris on Twitter @chrisdannen. And follow me @brandinista.