Saturday Sharing: Reflections

I haven't really talked about this here because it's not really something related to social media, but because of the topic I'm about to talk about today it's pertinent.  There were a lot less posts in October and November than previous posts as well as a lot less promotion of my own material because I've had a lot going on in my real life.

What I haven't mentioned is we're buying a house and are in the process of closing, cleaning and moving.  The big move happens just before Thanksgiving, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy before that. We've been going through stuff.  Packing. Sorting. Selling.  Donating.  Rinse and repeat. On top of that we have had school stuff going on, craft fairs, filling custom orders (especially the first half of October), writing blogs, NaNoWriMo, and our day jobs.  So often times when it's come down to me just sitting down and writing my blog posts I've been tired or just wanting to vegetate by playing video games - yes I play video games and enjoy the relaxation.  And I also realize that Warlords of Draenor is releasing and I want to play that but i have so many other obligations....so I know i have a lot of planning to do.

Unfortunately what I have noticed for any site I write for, if I don't have the posts written ahead of time, they won't get written and they won't get promoted as quickly and my monthly hits drop - drastically.  I know this is true for anyone, but some times it's hard to accept that.  Thus, this reflection.  Many people don't realize if they don't post regularly, even daily or almost daily, to their website or blogs and promote it, people lose interest and don't come back. You have to do what you can, despite your crazy schedule, to get things posted ahead of time.

I was horrible at this in October because I had two writing jobs due and they killed my ability to write anything else.  And as I will be transitioning back to full time writing again, I anticipate this happening again, but I need to strive to do better.  And I will strive to do better.

All of this being said, I am looking for guest and regular writers for this blog and other sites I own/run.  Please feel free to contact me if you are interested.

Friday Facts: The Rocket Science Behind Pinterest Engagement - infographic

Today's Friday Facts focuses on Pinterest. Make no mistake, I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest - you'll understand why when you read tomorrow's post, but Pinterest is a great place to find not only information about crafts and recipes and such, but also great sites with infographics on Social Media, which is how I came across today's infographic on how to increase Pinterest Engagement.

You can find the original pin I used to get to the article here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/381539399656085221/

You can find the entire article and infographic at Digital Information World here:  http://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2014/01/increase-pinterest-engagement-infographic.html

Do you have a Pinterest account linked solely to your brand?  If so, this infographic says it will teach you how to increase your Pinterest Engagement by 275%.  It gives you a bunch of statistics about Pinterest as well as important stats you need to be looking at, tips on how to increase engagement which in turn increases sales conversion, as well as their sources for their information and other information.

Check it out! If you find it useful, I encourage you to pin it and keep it in mind.

Thursday Tutorials: Now It's Easier to Select How You Like/Comment on Posts on Facebook

There was a recent change to many Facebook Pages.  If you don't have the change yet, you will soon.  This change is actually a good thing - it makes it easier for you to like and post as yourself instead of your page on posts on your page.

On every post now, you have a drop down to chose whether you like/comment as the page you're on, as yourself, or as one of your other pages.

Here's an example:

As you can see, on the right of the Like, Comment, Share line is a picture with an arrow.  When you click on the arrow you will get a list of pages/yourself to chose from.  Your personal profile is at the top of the list, the page you're on is automatically checked and other pages are below that and you may have to scroll to select them all.  The choice menu looks like this:

Simply select your profile if you want to like/comment/share as yourself before you post and you're set. You can also use this to easily comment as one of your pages if you chose to do so.

I like simplicity and this has definitely been simplified.

Thursday Tutorials are a series of tutorials designed to help people who may not be as Facebook savvy as other people.  Some tutorials will be targeted towards newbies to the social media world, others will include tutorials for more advanced users.  Thursday Tutorials are written for the layman and are designed with everyone in mind.  You can find all the Thursday Tutorials by clicking on the Thursday Tutorials tag below.

Wednesday Words: Follower

The words for this week and next week are connected and should be pretty obvious, but if you're new to social media, you may be confused by the terms.  This week's term is follower.  Next week's term is following.

Follower is a term native to Twitter but is also used on Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr. A follower is a person (or sometimes brand) that takes interest in you to actually follow you on one or multiple social media sites. A follower could be considered the equivalent of a "like" on a Facebook page.

The actual definition of follower, according to the dictionary, is "an adherent or devotee of a particular person, cause, or activity." Which actually defines it pretty well.

Followers often retweet/repost things they like or find interesting from people they follow. Followers for brands are especially important as they help increase the brand's reach as well as communicating with the brand or individual about what they like/don't like.

Followers can often also encourage others to follow you, whether it be through Follow Friday or just from people seeing that they've followed you so they do too.

Followers can be helpful and it's a good idea if you are building your brand not only to have followers, but to follow others as well.

Wednesday Words are a series of definitions released on Wednesday each week regarding a word found specific to Facebook's social media platform, or may be a generic word dealing with social media. These definitions are to help provide you with a better understanding of common and uncommon terms associated with Facebook and social media. You can find all the Wednesday Words by clicking on the Wednesday Words tag below.

Thank You, Veterans

We're skipping this week's Tuesday Tips instead to honor our Veterans.

I come from a family of military veterans so recognizing them has always been a part of my life.  My father, who passed away five and a half years ago, was a Marine who served in the Korean war. His brother, my uncle, was also a Marine who served in the same war. My brothers served in the Army - one as an officer, the other in the reserves.  My brother in law was in the Army and retired as Lt. Colonel. A couple of my nephews have served. My husband was in the Air Force and my father-in-law, also deceased, was in the Navy.

I also have many friends who have lived, and some who have died, in service in the military.

To all of them, thank you for your service. It is greatly appreciated.

The Monday Search: Job Listings Current as of 11/10/14

There are many jobs available out there for people knowledgeable about Social Media, but sometimes finding the job isn't easy.

Don't worry! Each week (when I have time) I will be featuring 3-5 jobs currently available as of Monday. Additional sites will be linked at the very bottom of the article and listed as sources. Other sites may be listed as well.

Here are this week's job listings I found interesting:

The Woods & Co is hiring a Social Media Coordinator in New York, NY

Responsibilities:

• Develop creative content and publish through various social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and more.
• Manage day-to-day interactions with online communities.
• Design original artwork for client’s social media pages.
• Monitor effective benchmarks for measuring the impact of social media programs, and analyze, review, and report on effectiveness of campaigns in an effort to maximize results.
• Build online events and campaigns that foster excitement and increase response: likes, fans, followers, partners, donors and volunteers.
• Create client reports that communicate the social media program’s activities, engagement, deliverables and the client’s ROI.
• Promote and support The Woods & Co blog.
• Identify opportunities to grow client’s and The Woods & Co’s audience and voice.
• Regularly provide feedback of insights gained from social media monitoring to the PR team, to ensure that social outreach is fully integrated with print, web, PR and event marketing in a timely fashion.
• Continuously explore new and existing social platforms, services and tools to increase reach and engagement. 
• Build strong relationship within the social media products community including leading technology providers, startups and opinion leaders.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors Degree in a related field (Communications, Journalism, Marketing, PR, Advertising etc.).
• 2 - 4 years experience managing social channels for a brand along with public relations, advertising, graphic design, blog writing and/or social media marketing expertise.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of social media platforms and their respective participants (Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and how they can be deployed in different scenarios with examples showing successful work from concept to completion.
• Strong knowledge of Adobe PhotoShop, InDesign and Illustrator.
• Strong project management or organizational skills.
• Proven ability to execute programs that increase positive interaction, build audience, maintain relationships and share client’s voice.
• Creative thinker, able to develop new concepts and collaborate with a team to execute on them.
• Ability to develop reporting and communications metrics that drive success and show results from efforts.
• Excellent copywriting and communications skills with some experience with photography and video preferred.
• Experience working with social media software & analytics.

For more information: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter-jobs/jobview.asp?joid=173518&c=jfbatl

AMC Networks is hiring a Social Media Manager for Sundance TV in New York, NY

Responsibilities:

• Create and manage editorial calendar, from conceptualizing and copy creation to approvals and posting
• Be able to articulate Sundance TV’s brand voice, priorities, and assets to ensure all posts are on point and on schedule
• Oversee required promotion for digital, sales, and marketing partnerships, including copywriting, scheduling, and capturing screenshots
• Act as community manager, overseeing responses to fan inquiries and escalating comments as necessary
• Review and analyze social media metrics, competitive activity, and research to make recommendations
• Explore new social media platforms and initiatives to help grow consumer engagement and awareness
• Keep up to speed with changes that may affect Sundance TV’s presence on social and digital platforms

Qualifications:

• 5-7 years working in social media
• Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts, Marketing or Communications preferred
• Must have experience working with agencies
• Exceptional communications skills 
• Extremely organized with strong attention to detail
• Professional and proactive
• Highly motivated, diligent, and proactive 
• Strong multi-tasking skills and an ability to work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
• Team player with a "can-do" attitude
• Passionate about TV, film, and entertainment media
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of emerging technologies

For more information: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter-jobs/jobview.asp?joid=173509&c=jfbatl

Newsday Media Grop is hiring a Social Media Moderator in Melville, NY 

Responsibilities:
We are looking for Cablevisionaries who always keep the customer first in mind, who insist on continuing to learn every day, who thrive in a highly collaborative work environment and who when presented with a challenge, don't quit until they find a solution.

Newsday.com is looking for a Social Media Moderator to help manage our Twitter, Facebook and overall social media strategy, oversee comments on the website and manage user-generated content from our headquarters in Melville, Long Island. The ideal candidate is a sharp, hardworking and flexible journalist who lives and breathes social media 24/7. We’re looking for someone to help us to engage users on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. Brainstorm, draft and implement strategies to guide our social media efforts. Monitor comments and user-generated content on newsday.com. Work with editors and reporters on using social media in newsgathering. Steer tips on breaking news/community news to the appropriate online and print editors. Build and maintain relationships with other websites, and serve as a conduit for ideas. Participate in special projects as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, mass communications or related field. 
• Previous experience in a newsroom setting. 
• Good understanding/knowledge of community-building and newsgathering on social media sites/blogs. 
• Solid copy-editing and sharp writing skills to engage our audience. 
• Flexibility to work various shifts and monitor online content. 
• Reliable transportation to and from our Melville, Long Island office. 
• Experience with PHP, Javascript, MySQL and/or data visualization a plus. 

For more information: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter-jobs/jobview.asp?joid=173493&c=jfbatl

Other listings:

• Media Bistro Job Listings (note not all the jobs listed here are social media positions):http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter-jobs/?c=stnav
• LinkedIn Social Media Job Listings: http://www.linkedin.com/job/q-social-media-manager-jobs and http://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/j?keywords=socialmedia+manager or http://www.linkedin.com/job/q-social-media-marketing-jobs or http://www.linkedin.com/job/q-social-media-strategist-jobs
• CareerBuilder: http://www.careerbuilder.com/Jobs/Keyword/Social-Media-Manager/
• Indeed.com: http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Social-media
• Simply Hired: http://www.simplyhired.com/k-social-media-jobs.html 

The Monday Search is a brief listing of jobs available for those in the social media marketing field. All jobs are found through internet searches and are just featured because they are of interest to me. Monday Searches will contain links to sites with other job listings in addition to the ones listed here.  If you are interested in having a Social Media job opening featured for your company, please send me a message via Facebook on my page or my profile.