Becky Robinson's Blog, page 30

What Not to Do on Social Media

Social media is a little like a Clint Eastwood movie—there’s good, bad, and ugly. We like to stay positive and focus on sharing tips to help you constantly and consistently improve your social media game, but sometimes it’s helpful to take a deep dive into what NOT to do.

Make it all about you

This is one of those don’ts that many thought leaders do. You have a new book and you want to promote it—there’s nothing wrong with that; but if all of your content is about you, you, you, why should I or anyone else follow? Remember, people who follow you do so for information, inspiration, or a few laughs. If you don’t deliver value to THEM, you’ll find your social growth is slow or it might even stall out completely.

Want to break this habit? Consider sharing third-party curated content. It brings new information to your followers that you agree with and think they’ll find beneficial. It helps you become the hub for information about your area of expertise. Remember, a high tide raises all boats. Be that high tide.

Ignore comments and questions

Social media is about starting conversations. If people stop to ask a question or make a comment, acknowledge them! Sometimes a simple ‘like’ is all that’s needed to let someone know they’ve been heard. Don’t neglect this engagement.

Post the same content again and again

You’ve probably heard that you can repeat content on social media because the audience is always shifting, and that’s true to some extent. If you have a very successful post, you can share it again, but do so with some tweaks. Freshen the copy, change the image, do something to make it unique, even if it is derivative.

If you don’t have time to write new copy, at least change the image. Our brains tend to register images longer than we register words, so a repeated image signals that content is ‘old’ content and followers will skip on by.

Post whenever

If you want to build a loyal, engaged following, posting whenever you think about it probably won’t cut it. Consistency is one of the keys to social media success, as it is in life: you just need to show up. Using a scheduling tool will help you show up, even when you’re doing other things.

Leave off hashtags or tags

If you want the smallest audience possible for your content, please forget hashtags. If you like to reach new people, hashtag away. Twitter posts do well with 1-2 hashtags; more than that and reach is lowered. On Instagram, anywhere from 3 to 11 hashtags will deliver results. LinkedIn is new to the hashtag game, but experiment; they likely won’t hurt, but keep it to a minimum. On Facebook, hashtags actually lower reach, so we advise against using them on that platform.

You know what works on ALL platforms? Tags!  Tag the company you’re talking about, tag the thought leader you’re referencing, or the media outlet that featured your work.  Tags expand the audience and we all want that!

If you steer clear of these pitfalls, Clint Eastwood might follow you on social media, but you won’t feel like you’ve stumbled into one of his films.

What other don’ts have you spotted on social media?

Boosting Social Media Engagement

Engagement is a hot topic — both engagement in the workplace, and engagement on social media. We’ll leave engagement at the workplace to our skilled and inspiring authors. (Check out Mark Miller’s new book Win the Heart for some great insight.) But when it comes to social media, we do have a few ideas that might help you get more people interacting with the content you’re putting down.

Post Photos and Videos

I know, I know. You’ve heard this advice before, and that’s because it works. According to research from eMarketer, posting photos on Facebook can increase engagement by as much as 85%, and photos bump up retweets up by 35%. Your phone includes a camera, so there’s no excuse NOT to go visual.

Use Humor

Social media can be a real downer — offer up a few laughs, and people will engage. You don’t have to be a stand-up comic, but feel free to use humor in your content regularly. It lets followers know who you are, and makes your ideas more fun and memorable. Just keep it light-hearted. No one likes a mean comic or thought leader.

Ask Away

How do you engage people in conversation? That’s right, you ask questions. Same thing works on social media. Ask thoughtful engaging questions and you’ll receive thoughtful engaging answers.

Polls are another way to ask a question. We don’t recommend using them frequently, but tossing in a poll on Facebook and Twitter around an interesting topic, on occasion, can drive conversation and engagement.

Answer Already

If you have a teenager, you know how frustrating it can be to not get a response. Your followers on social media feel the same way when they ask you something or comment, and you don’t respond. You are half of the engagement equation. Get on your social platforms, ‘like’ comments from your followers, respond to their comments, and reshare when it makes sense.

Give Something Away

Everyone likes to win! Give away some of your books on social media, or other materials, and see your engagement increase. Be sure to make social action part of the giveaway, such as sharing an image or using a specific hashtag.

These tactics can help increase your engagement, but keep in mind, the overall quality of your content is the biggest engagement factor. If your content consistently focuses on your followers and their needs, you’re on the path to long-term community-building success.

How are you trying to increase engagement on your social media channels?

Win the Heart: Creating A Culture of Engagement

From top leaders to front line workers, engagement matters at all levels. Imagine building a culture where everyone showed up fully engaged and excited about the work . . . a culture where the potential of every worker was fully unleashed. The competitive advantage you could create would be staggering. The reality is, it can happen.

This week, we’re excited to launch another great book from bestselling author Mark Miller, which reveals four cornerstones of engagement and how to create a workplace where employees truly want to be.

Win the Heart

Every great company has an engaged workforce, and nurturing a culture of engagement is at the heart of great leadership–employees who really care about their work, their coworkers, and the organization can supercharge a company’s success. But for many years, engagement has been suffering. Gallop reports that 70 percent of employees are not fully engaged on the job. Mark Miller draws on more than forty years of leadership experience to show leaders at all levels how to change the conversation and create real competitive advantage in the process.

In the fourth book in Miller’s High Performance Series, CEO Blake Brown sets out to discover how to create the kind of workplace where everyone feels excited to come to work, passionate about what he or she brings to the company, and energized at the end of the day. It’s a journey that takes him literally all over the world–from Italy to Greece to Green Bay and more. What he discovers from the pages of history is as relevant as the evening news.

Engagement unleashes untapped potential buried deep within the hearts of your people. An engaged workforce is more creative, more driven, and more enthusiastic about reaching company goals. If you put the lessons in this book to work, your people will never look at work, or their leaders, the same way again.

Meet the Author

Mark Miller began writing over a decade ago when he teamed up with Ken Blanchard on The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do. In 2011, he released The Secret of Teams, outlining the key principles that enable some teams to outperform the all the rest. Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life came next in 2012, followed by The Heart of Leadership in October 2013, the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Secret in September 2014, Chess Not Checkers: Elevate Your Leadership Game in April 2016,  Leaders Made Here in March 2017, and Talent Magnet in February 2018.

In his latest book, Win the Heart, Miller uses a clever and entertaining business fable to share these findings. He continues the story of Blake, a young CEO, who sets out on a journey to discover the key to engaging leadership. By the end of his journey, Blake has discovered a powerful philosophy to guide his decisions in the future, and four drivers of engagement to implement today.

In addition to writing, he really loves speaking to leaders. Over the years, he’s traveled extensively around the world teaching for numerous international organizations. His theme is always the same: encouraging and equipping leaders.

He also sells chicken. Mark started his Chick-fil-A career working as an hourly team member back in 1977. In 1978, he joined the corporate staff working in the warehouse and mail room. Since then, he’s provided leadership for Corporate Communications, Field Operations, Quality and Customer Satisfaction, Training and Development, and Organizational Effectiveness. Today he serves as the Vice President of High Performance Leadership. During his time with Chick-fil-A, annual sales have grown to over $5 billion, and the company now has more than 1,700 restaurants in 39 states and the District of Columbia.

Praise from Readers 

“Mark Miller has a unique style of delivering sage advice through storytelling. . . . The concepts are not new, but the delivery is effective.“ — Daryl Delabbio, 5-star Amazon review

“Miller’s modern parable writing style is easy reading, but profound in thought and background. When I read it I was reminded a bit of Simon Sinek’s “Why” in order to see people motivated to their call. Miller does this with heart and does it equally as well as Sinek. If you are a young leader, learn the heart lesson early and your leadership will blossom. Getting to the heart of the matter is what truly matters.”  — DocMyron, 5-star Amazon review

“This is a simple, short, and significant reminder that as leaders, our job is to create an environment of engagement… and that starts with Winning The Heart!”  — Sean Glaze, 5-star Amazon review

“Miller communicates the results of solid research with engaging story so that the reader is quickly engulfed in a virtual experience that closely resembles what most employers and managers experience in their workday environment: many employees approach their work as “just a job.” . . . Anyone who has worked in a great environment will appreciate the practical insight this volume affords for those who lead organizations.”  — SW, 5-star Amazon review

Learn More

Visit Amazon to buy a copy of the book, or leave a short review of it.
Check out the website for more information and free Win the Heart resources.
Watch the recent webinar to learn more about the CARE model of engagement.

Rules of Engagement in Media

What’s your biggest pet peeve? Is it when people chew with their mouths full? Or don’t take their shoes off when they come into your home?

Mine is when people don’t ask questions in a conversation. This isn’t because I like talking about myself, but because it shows a general lack of interest. Not many people like to be talked at or in a one-sided conversation. There should be give-and-take, and writing articles for media placement is not much different.

Many of you reading this have written wonderful books. What’s different about writing for online media is that the attention span is incredibly short—55 percent of visitors spend less than 15 seconds on a webpage. So, it’s imperative to grab attention and keep it by engaging your readers.

Here are 5 rules of engagement when writing for media.

Write a fantastic headline.

This almost goes without saying, but headlines are the first thing people read when deciding whether to spend time reading more. One way to make sure you nail the headline is to work backwards. Come up with your amazing headline and then write the piece to fit it, not the other way around.

Write a fantastic intro.

Once your headline has convinced the reader that they want to spend a little more time on the page, you’ve got to keep them there. Use this space to prove to them what they’re reading will be important to their success, life, happiness, what have you. You can also draw readers in by sharing a controversial stat or opinion—or even better, a short (maybe personal) story that appeals to their emotions. Emotions are great attention-grabbers.

Ask questions.

Here we are, back to asking questions. Did you know readers like it, too? From when we were little, we were taught to pay attention to questions, so when we spot one on a page, we snap back into attention. Use them throughout your piece to ensure focus.

Use bullets and subheads.

This study by Nielsen-Norman Group is a really interesting and useful study that shows that web readers don’t read text word-for-word. They scan it. Think about it: how do you read web pages? Do your eyes jump to headings and lists? You’re not alone. The research shows that using meaningful (not clever) subheadings and bulleted lists are great ways to get your writing read. Other tips—use the inverted pyramid style, hyperlink keywords, and use half the word count that you would for a hard copy piece.

Use transition words.

There’s no quicker way to lose a reader’s attention than to lose them in your writing. Make sure you use transitional words that help readers to the next point. Some good ones include:

In addition to
That’s why
Besides
Likewise
Similarly
Here’s how

I want to close with a note about pitching media, since many of your media writing opportunities will come from pitches to journalists. These rules above apply, as well as a big emphasis on showing the journalist that you’re familiar with their work. In lieu of asking many questions in an email, reference past work by the recipient and explain how what you can write or interview about will benefit them and their audiences.

And, that’s what I have. We’d love to hear your tips for engaging readers by leaving them in the comments!

5 Ways to Improve Engagement on Your Website

When it comes to metrics you should pay attention to, engagement should be one of the big ones. Engagement is going to dictate whether or not all those followers, fans, or website visitors can actually result in a more robust, long-term work relationship.

Your website is your hub, your calling card. So it makes sense to start there when optimizing for engagement. Let’s walk through all the places on your website where you can initiate the call for engagement.

Content

Quite frankly, everything starts with the content on your website. It will set the tone for engagement . . . or not. The exact time varies online, but you have between 7-15 seconds to capture the attention of your website visitors. To create a site that looks engaging, you should follow these simple rules:

Make text easy to read. White text on dark backgrounds is harder on the eyes.
Use white space strategically. Big blocks of text or a crowded and busy layout can be a huge turn off.
Don’t use poor quality images.
Limit fonts and colors used. Quite simply, you want a website that is beautiful to look at.
Don’t use huge pop-ups that cover the page. There are all sorts of gurus who say you can increase subscription rates by having this on your website, but I think the key is to keep it small and to make it pop up after a certain percentage of scrolling. That way the visitor at least knows what you’re about, before an email request pops up. Also, Google will penalize you in search if a pop-up blocks your content on your mobile website, so you want to use something smaller and less obtrusive.

When it comes to words, you want to start light and engaging. Refrain from the use of industry jargon and focus on getting people to know, like, and trust you. Make sure that people can answer these from the homepage:

Who are you?
What product or service do you provide?
Do you provide a solution to their issue?
Is it worth sharing?

Blog

If you have a blog, you can do a few things to encourage engagement with your readers.

Write in an engaging tone. We’re coming away from the strict English writing rules we all grew up with and leaning more to writing how we speak. When you think about it, writing that way plays more like a conversation with the reader. We can almost hear the dialogue in our head. Of course, know who your audience is and how they talk. This requires some familiarity with your target market, but doing so will attract the right people to your content.
If you reference other people’s content, link to it. If they’re paying attention, it’s quite possible they will come to comment on your blog. At the least, it opens the channel for a conversation.
Ask a question at the end of your blog to solicit a response. If people comment on your content, take the time to comment back. Try to respond in a way that can keep the conversation going.

Social

Make sure that social sharing is a part of your engagement strategy. Pre-packaging social shares is a cool tactic. Using a tool like Click to Tweet helps to give people reasons to engage with your content by sharing it with their tribe. Creating beautiful, downloadable graphics for them to share is another way.

Make sure if you see that someone shares your content that you acknowledge it with a “like” or thank you. This will help to encourage future sharing.

Chat Bots

Chat bots are kind of a new thing. Usually used to help with customer support or sales, chat bots are an easy way to engage with people in real-time on your website. There are all sorts of chat bots, including ones that integrate with Facebook Messenger, but they break down into two types — ones that are managed by a live person, and ones that initiate via artificial intelligence (AI) or bots (short for robots).

Live chats are staffed by an individual. You can assign several staff members, certain ones or manage it yourself. They can come in both a desktop and mobile app so that you can handle website visitor questions on the fly.

With AI, you can “train” it to respond to certain keywords or ask certain questions to direct their inquiry. They can collect information and assure the visitor of a human response later or can forward to a live operator then and there.

Contact Page

Last but not least, you want to have a contact page or ways that people can contact you. You can’t claim you want engagement and then give no one a way to engage. A contact page says, “I want to hear from you.” Just make sure that you’re on the other end of the phone or email to continue the conversation.

Engagement is an important piece of online metrics. It’ll give you a quick look if you’re really doing this digital marketing thing right. If you’re engagement doesn’t seem to be happening, maybe making some of the tweaks above can help.

What are some engagement tweaks you can make to your website?

Planning Content for Your Webinar

In our experience, we have discovered webinars to be an important tool in driving interest in your book or product, boosting sales, and helping others understand WHY they should invest in you. You may decide to partner with a marketing agency to help plan and facilitate your webinar, or you may decide to plan and host it yourself. Whatever route you decide to take, planning is an important part to ensure your webinar runs smoothly and makes your point in an effective manner.

Before You Begin — Brainstorm

Think about the type of message you want to convey. Do you want to conduct a more formal keynote-type presentation with slides and a lot of information? Or do you want to be more interactive with your audience and conduct an interview-style webinar? Are you going to record the event for people to watch later? Will you leave time for Q & A at the end? Will you host the event solo or have co-presenters? These are some of the questions you should be asking yourself.

After you determine the type of webinar you plan to conduct, focus on the action you want people to take as a result of joining your webinar.

Analyze Your Goals

Are you trying to sell a book or a product? Maybe you’re just trying to get an idea or body of work into the world, or maybe you’re just wanting people to get to know you. Whatever your goals are, write them down. Be clear and concise about what you want to accomplish.

Next, think about what you can do to support those goals. If your goal is to get people to buy your book, create a slide that encourages people to buy. If the goal is to convert people to your email list, make sure you direct them to an area where they can sign up. Offering something free (like a one-page sheet supporting your ideas, or a book study guide) in exchange for signing up always helps!

Create a Landing Page

Now that you have a theme and goals, it’s time to put it all together. Use a platform like Zoom or GoToWebinar to create a landing page for your event. The landing page should include details such as the webinar topic, the date and time the event is taking place, and a form for people to register. Add graphics or logos to make the page more interesting and appealing. Don’t forget to include a headshot and bio on the page – people want to know who is presenting!

Market Your Event

This is the most important part! Once the registration link is ready, share that link in emails and on social media. Send personal invites to your contacts asking them to sign-up and share the event with others. You may even want to include a Click to Tweet in your emails so that people can easily share your event with their networks. We recommend sending a series of emails to invite your network. Consider sending an email 3-4 weeks before the event, and another email one week before the event.

Send Follow-Up Materials

After the event, we highly recommend following up with the people who registered. Use an email platform like Mailchimp to send an email to everyone who registered to thank them for their interest. Be sure to include any follow-up materials such as a PDF of your slides and a link to the replay video (if you are offering these). And, don’t forget to include some calls-to-action in the email that support the goals you outlined earlier.

With great planning and practice, you can have a successful webinar event. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged, but if you take care in preparing for and planning your event, chances are it’ll be better than you expected!

Have you conducted a successful webinar? Comment below, and let us know what you found most valuable in while planning for your webinar!

 

How to Succeed at Working Remotely

We’ve all seen the photos—digital nomads traipsing around the world, taking selfies with their laptops on white, sandy beaches. Or maybe it’s the pajama clad freelancer nestled among her fluffy pillows tapping away on her MacBook Pro.

Working remotely can be a dream for many; and now, with its proven increases in productivity, working from home is something that many find themselves dreaming about.

But despite the story those Instagram-filtered pictures tell, it’s not all sand and surf and throw pillows. Here are some tips to bring you back to reality and help you make the most of your remote working experience. 

Tip #1 – Stick to a Schedule

In my early days of working from home, work started before the sun. With young kids to care for, I found my most productive hours came in the dark and silence of early mornings. Unfortunately, I also found that I’d get so engrossed in my work that I’d forget to eat, get dressed, or formally start my day. Before I knew it, the kids were up screaming, “I’M HUNGRY,” and I’d emerge from my cave looking frazzled and wondering where the time had gone. I dropped the ball in every court except work, and that wasn’t acceptable.

Enter: Detailed Scheduling.

I started by scheduling out everything — stretch breaks, meal breaks, gym breaks, homeschooling hours, work hours, house and farm chore hours, everything. I took it one step further by setting alarms to alert me when it was time for any of those breaks, and while it seemed ridiculous at first, I saw a jump in my efficiency and productivity in all areas of working and motherhood.

Make a schedule and treat it with the same respect you would if you were working a typical 9-to-5. It will allow you more efficiency in your day and guard that precious work/life balance.

Tip #2 – Keep Your Health in Mind

We’re talking both physical and mental health here. Working remotely can be a lonely experience. And while the increased solitude is wonderful for minimizing distraction and enhancing productivity, it can get old fast. We’re communal beings by nature so even the most introvert of introverts will find themselves feeling alone and left out if they aren’t careful. Fortunately, there are ways to remedy this situation.

I prefer working in coffee shops. Being the introvert that I am, this gives me just enough people interaction so that I don’t feel completely alone, but I’m still able to be as productive as I’d like.

Another thing to consider: ask what sort of face-to-face opportunities are available in your organization. Here at Weaving Influence, we have monthly meetings where we come together digitally through Zoom to discuss various topics important to the Weaving Influence family. These times are a chance for us to connect, get to know each other better, and be reminded that there’s a living, breathing human on the other end of our screens.

Now let’s talk physical health.

Remote workers have a tendency to sit a lot, making small repetitive movements for hours on end. This is the perfect storm for fatigue and stress to your body and joints. Carpal tunnel, anyone?

Much in the same way that physical labor can be taxing, not moving your body enough can be just as taxing. You were made to move! You need to be conscious of this and actively counteract it. Fortunately, remote workers have the freedom to fit in those mid-day workouts. The gym will be less busy, your brain will enjoy the mental break, and the endorphin release will help with any of the lonely feelings I mentioned earlier. Schedule it (see tip #1) and get it done — your body and work will thank you.

Tip #3 – Not Everyone is Cut Out for Remote Work

Working remotely requires a certain level of discipline and self-motivation. This becomes all the more difficult when you’re actually working from home.

My kids are with me all the time. So, in addition to the mountains of laundry calling my name, I’m constantly being asked important things like, “Who would win a fight, Spider Man or Thanos?” And, “What color bow should I put in my doll’s hair?” It’s taken communication, lots of patience, and firm boundary-setting for the kids and I to figure out what working from home looks like.

But even if you don’t have kids at home, you’ll need to be honest about your ability to ignore distraction and create your own motivation.

Don’t let the internet fool you — working remotely isn’t always as carefree and wonderful as it seems. But with a little insight from those who’ve been at it a while, you can prepare yourself for the hurdles and wins of remote work.

Do you work remotely? What do you love and hate about it? Tell me in the comments!

 

Creating Relations with Media via Social Media

When you develop a reputation for being responsive and generous, an ever-expanding mountain of requests will come your way. ~ Adam Grant

You see value when the media talks about your work. It helps add credibility to your expertise, and escalates the opportunity to expand your reach with larger and focused audiences you admire. Nevertheless, don’t forget, journalists are people too — and if you want the news to know you, making the effort to know the voices behind the news will help your work stand-out and get picked up.

Here are a few ways you can build relationship with the media before you begin your pitching process.

Do Your Research

Here at Weaving Influence, we work with several authors that write about leadership and workplace culture. That said, our clients’ expertise consistently aligns well with topics covered in outlets like Forbes, Inc., SmartBrief on Leadership, and Fast Company.

If you don’t have print subscriptions or the time to scroll through these outlets regularly, you can stay up-to-date by subscribing to their newsletters that share top stories, or to catered reads on .

Once you find a few articles that parallel with your work, see who’s writing it and see what else they’ve written in the past 3-6 months. Look for anything on par with your background, and make a list of the 5-10 journalists who wrote them.

Find and Follow

Now that you have a list of reporters, look for them on social media and follow them. I recommend Twitter, as it is a common place reporters share their work and thoughts on other news. If you’re having trouble tracking them down, try searching for their social media handle within their bio page on a media outlet.

Also, go back and look at those who covered you before and check out some of their recent materials to see if the topics are similar. If so, follow them too!

Like, Share, Retweet, Repeat

Now that you have some new media contacts on your feeds, take a look at what they are tweeting and posting about and engage. Like, share, and retweet the content that inspires and interests you. This shows you appreciate their work and sets your expertise up to be appreciated. Set aside some time every week — even if it’s just an hour to read a few articles, tweets, post, etc. This will give you time to learn their tone and authentically interact with their shared content.

Don’t be afraid to engage with subjects that seem unrelated to your work. Remember, journalists are people, and when you spare a like and share here and there on a casual human interest, you remind them you are too.

They may not engage back, but they’ll notice the person always engaged in their work. Especially if you’re one of five.

A Couple Things to Avoid

While engaging with journalists, avoid pitching your idea via social media or over email too quickly. It will downplay all the previous efforts to engage. Don’t become the person who only shows support when they need a favor. Give it some time before you pitch anything.

Don’t use blocked time to stalk someone’s profile and inauthentically like and share all their posts back to back. If you react to 5 of his or her article posts in a row, it can be obvious you didn’t read anything. Take the time to read their content, and prove it by quoting their work when tweet/post or comment about it, and adding your personal and professional reflections where it deems relevance.

You’re playing for the long run, but your loyalty sheds a greater shot in being sourced and trusted. Taking the time with a sincere effort to build relationships with the media will increase the opportunities to share your expertise with the outlets you value.

How Trust Will Keep Your Followers Coming Back For More

On the heels of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, social media users are skeptical now more than ever to trusting influencers. Users are questioning how ads are targeted to them, what links are clickbait, and why the have to share their email address, and more. This makes the ever-so challenging digital marketing world that much harder to wade through to bring attention to your brand.

But, this one element can revolutionize the way you look at your social media — trust. Human relationships revolve around trust and without it there can be no relationship. Pay special attention to the word I used, “relationship.” I often tell clients that building followers is about building relationships.  In the real world, you do this by spending quality time with others, sharing memories, telling others your deep thoughts and biggest dreams.

Why can’t this be the same for the digital world?

Here are some ideas of how you can show up online in real, compelling ways . . .

In-the-Moment Content

Yes, we all need to promote our products, events, and business-related items. But that isn’t what should reign supreme on your feed. Posting candid, in-the-moment content shows your followers what they want to see . . . you! Waiting at the airport for your next venture? Share a photo. Backstage at before your big speech? Share a video. Behind the scenes at a photoshoot? Go live on Facebook on Instagram.

These small snapshots of real life content breathe life into how you show up online. They give followers a sneak peek into private moments, which makes them feel like they know you. It’s a simple step to build and nurture those relationships.

Sharing Your Views and Values

Sharing your opinion on the world’s hot button issues typically is a no-no. I wouldn’t recommend that a client blast their political views on social media; but sharing your values in a more polished way can create loyal, committed followers. Perhaps you support a charity in your local area or you have a soft spot for neglected animals. You can still share things that are important to you without hitting the “offensive” button.

Sharing your values builds that trust level because you are someone behind that screen with real-life interests. You aren’t just someone with a monetary end game . . . you want to make a difference with what you do.

Tap Into Trending Topics

What’s was your reaction to Michelle Obama’s surprise appearance at the Grammys? Tapping into what’s trending communicates that you are “in the know.” You are watching and reacting to the same top events that you followers are. You can sparingly use this content to place your stamp of opinion on topics in your wheelhouse, whether it be leadership or fashion. It makes your feed feel a bit more real and authentic.

Today’s social media marketing is more than the mundane, cookie-cutter content. Users want to feel as if what you are posting is directly personalized to them. I encourage you to not see this as a challenge, but an opportunity to step outside the box. Take a personal inventory and re-think how you want to show up online. Just remember to keep trust and relationship-building top of mind!

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Are you stuck in a rut? Has your promotion grown stale? Are your ideas stagnant? Do you stare at the blinking cursor and wonder what to write next? Does it seem like your blog posts are all the same? We’ve all been there!

In work and in life, it can be easy to continue to do things the way you’ve always done them. It’s comfortable and convenient, but it can also stall your forward momentum. If you’re ready to shake things up in 2019, then it’s time to take a risk and try something new!

Don’t hold onto a habit just because it’s comfortable.

If you notice a downturn in engagement, it could be a result of the change in social algorithms, but it could also be that your accounts have become predictable. If you are bored with your posts, it’s going to come through that way to your audience as well. If you’re still posting on Google+ but completely ignoring Instagram and LinkedIn, then it’s definitely time to shake things up! Tired of posting on Twitter? Focus on something new! If you’ve developed writers block and grown weary of writing full-length posts, consider switching it up and creating mini-blogs on Instagram or doing a weekly Facebook Live. Just because something used to work (and even work well) does not mean you have to keep doing it.

And just because it worked in the past, doesn’t mean it always will.

Instead of continuing to do what worked five years ago, shake up your schedule of promotion. Change up what you’re posting, incorporate new ideas, create share graphics that highlight your own content, and don’t waste your time on things that no longer meet your needs or the interests of your audience. Keeping tabs on where your audience hangs out will give you a sense of freedom to move on and change things up. Even though I met my boss on Twitter, neither of us spend much time on there these days and have moved on to new platforms that meet our respective needs.

So be willing to try something new.

In terms of book promotion, we’ve had to get a little more creative as the social landscape has changed. It’s been vital to our success that we resist the pull of the comfort zone and seek out ways to make our clients stand apart from the competition. Shaking things up a little has made our whole team take a look at what we do for “best practices” and consider whether or not those things are still the best that we could do, or if something else needs to take their place. Sometimes old faithful is still the best option (for example, Dan Rockwell is still rocking the Twittersphere!), but make sure you’re not hanging on just because it’s what you’ve always done. If you’re scheduled to launch another book, remember to include a new promotional tool or idea in your plan. If you’re no longer getting engagement on Twitter, try opening an Instagram account (and follow us @weaveinfluence). Don’t get stuck in the past!

The slide into a slump often happens without even realizing it, especially if you’ve been doing something for a long time. So if you want to experience growth, then it’s time to step outside of your comfort zone and give something new a chance!