With the explosion of Social Media, there are now TONS of social platforms out there today. In this post I am going to cover the Top 4 Platforms I think you should be on.
With all the Social Media platforms out there, where do you begin?
Some of you may already be on the following platforms– WAY TO GO! Some of you may not be on any of them– how did you get here? Some of you may only be on a couple of them– get ready, here we go!
[This is part of the How To: Social Media Series, check out the rest of the series HERE.]
- “Facebook helps you share and connect with the people in your life.”
1. Facebook | Duh.
Okay, this is probably not necessary, but I had to put it. There’s no excuse if you don’t have a Facebook already. Even my parents (who are NOT the most tech-savvy in the world) have a facebook profile. This is a no-brainer.
"The best way to discover what's new in your world."
2. Twitter | Stop Fighting It
I know there are some people who still REFUSE to get a Twitter account. Here’s the reality– it is the platform of choice for most leaders. Whereas Facebook is more casual (unless we’re talking about Fan Pages- post coming soon), Twitter lends itself to a more mature audience who is actively seeking information. For the most part.
Rather than try to convince anyone to join Twitter, I’ll just let Michael Hyatt do it for me– he’s WAY better. Check out his post on “12 Reasons To Start Twittering” – it’s really good. Michael also writes a great Beginner’s Guide to Twitter.
"Control your professional identity online."
3. Linked In | For Professionals
LinkedIn is mainly for professionals who want to network with other professionals, or have a place to put their resume online. To be honest, I don’t really use it very much, but it is a worthwhile investment to claim your profile. Just like one of their tagline’s says, it is a place where you can “control your professional identity online.”
You have a perspective... share it wisely.
4. Start A Blog – Choose Wisely
Some of you may not think of yourself as a ‘BLOGGER’, but put it this way– sometimes you have more to say than can fit into a Tweet or a Status Update. So I recommend for those occasions that you have a blog. You don’t have to be an avid writer, just have one for occasional purposes.
Choosing the right blogging platform is another post altogether, but here are some quick recommendations:
Posterous – My first suggestion to anyone new to the blogoshpere. It’s quick, DEAD SIMPLE, and has lots of easy-to-use features. If you want simple and elegant, go with Posterous.
Blogger – One of the most well known blogging platforms. I personally hate it. But, it is widely recognized and has been around for a long time. They also have templates and easy-to-use features, but MUCH less functionality.
Tumblr – This has gained quite a lot of popularity over the past year. Very easy for following people, and posting new content of all kinds. In my humble opinion, it’s High School level blogging. Nothing wrong with that.
WordPress – The most well known, widely used, and uber-awesome blogging platform there is. It’s a very advanced blogging platform that can do just about anything. Check out John Saddington’s post that convinced me to start using WordPress by clicking HERE.
5. Choose Your Niche
You might notice I left a lot of major social players out. I did that for one very good reason, to keep this post SHORT (amen?). I also think that all the other major ones like YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Instagram, Foursquare, etc., are more dependent on what you are geared towards. If you don’t make short videos, then you don’t really need to focus on a YouTube or Vimeo account (unless you just like to comment on videos, in that case go right ahead and sign up). And if you don’t take and share pictures often, then you don’t have a reason to have a Flickr or Instagram account. So when it comes to the others, find what it is you are passionate about, or interested in and sign up for an account.
*UPDATE* (This just shows how quickly things can change in social media. In order to stay on the cutting edge, I’ve added this last network that you must get on right away!)
6. Google+ | Early adopters unite!
This is the newest addition to the gammit of social networks. In my humble, yet well informed, opinion, this is a must for anyone looking to become a Social Media Rockstar.
It blew up in it’s first few weeks, gaining over 20 Million users! That made Facebook and Twitter look like a couple geriactrics in a drag race! I explain in this post why I even think Google+ is better than Facebook, but most people remain skeptical and resistant. Don’t be one of those people! Google+ has so much potential that it makes me dizzy thinking about it. I should probably write a post on it someday.
Bottom line, go find someone who will give you a Google+ invite, and sign up today! Then you can visit the Ultimate Google+ Tutorial Site to learn how to master it. You will definitely be ahead of the game.
And, you’ve made it! Well, you’ve made it through this post anyways. Now, once you’ve put what we’ve just talked about into action, it’s time to start the process of turning you into a Social Media Rockstar. Check out the series here.
What is your favorite social networking site? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
I like Facebook. Probably, a little too much time is spent on it!
Haha! I hear you Marcus!
My excuse is that I’m working, which is true! I use it for prospecting. However, I don’t want to calculate the working versus non-working hours.
I don’t spend too much time on Facebook. Mostly I use it to catch up with old friends ever so often.
I love my blog, and the community developing around it.
I use Twitter quite a bit.
I have a Linked In account, but do not use it enough…
Great info and post!
Thanks Adam! I would say we’re pretty similar in our use of all those that you mentioned. Thanks for being AWESOME!
Awesome! I just swicthed from webs to wordpress for my blog a few days ago and I love it!
Good stuff! Are you on Facebook & Twitter too?
wordpress sometimes makes my head hurt. tumblr is what all women want in a guy- cute and simple. LOL! i know i need to grow up, but i can’t get wordpress to ‘settle down’ for me. i’m hopeless.
great article, though. i will definitely share it.
Haha! Thanks for sharing Marshelle! I was overwhelmed by WordPress at first also, that’s why I stuck with Posterous for so long.
Okay…So now after asking the last question about Blogger, now I read that you hate Blogger…LOL. Okay…So now tomorrow I have to spend the evening reading Johns blog about why I need to move to WordPress before I really get started so I don’t have a full blown site to try and transfer..lol. But thanks to you I will have resources to get me started. But let me ask you this… You have hopefully seen my blog and you see the style of backbround I tend to use. Does WordPress and the standard theme allow for that or is that something I will have to really abandon? Or am I realy asking that in the wrong blog thread? LOL.
Standard theme will allow you to do ANYTHING your heart desires. It is the best WordPress theme EVER. And if you need help figuring it out, I’m happy to help!
Okay…So I guess since I have the user name perhap I will take the time to set up a WordPress blog and use the standard theme and transfer everything over. I guess I know what I will be doing next week. You can expect me to have questions for you Wednesday…lol.
Thanks,
David
Haha! Awesome. If you wanna try a light (and FREE) alternative to Standard Theme, John Saddington just came out with a free alternative called ‘Content’ – check it out HERE.
I like your point of the niche defining your social media platform. Facebook, Twitter(kinda), Linkedin, and blogging are the main ways to get people into your life. I have hesitated to really get into using facebook and twitter, but I’m figuring it’ll be a worthwhile investment if I can find a good rhythm for the systems
True true. What’s your niche?
WOW…I followed a few more resources on Twitter yesterday some Christian and others mostly blog related and by this afternoon I think I had 15 more followers. I did have a coulpe of retweets yesterday too which might have something to do with it.
See…You blogs really do help
That’s great to hear! What do you mean by “I followed a few more resources on Twitter…”?
money and small business entrepreneurships.