Category Archives: Social Media

One Year on Twitter

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

17428103_sIt’s hard to believe a year has passed since I joined Twitter. Looking back, I can only shake my head at all the excuses I gave for resisting social media.

It would take too much time.

What if no one followed me?

What would I tweet?

All my fears were short-lived. I was hooked after the first day and was amazed by the number of Twitter-worthy topics that emerged. I always had something to contribute from my favorite quotations to posts and articles about writing to inspirational chats…

Over the past twelve months, I have tweeted almost every day and encountered a new set of friends and interests. I have participated in a number of chats, among them #SpiritChat, #PoCchat, #PFWchat, #InspireChat and #LeadfromWithin.

My numbers, to date…

6509 tweets | 2146 following | 2472 followers

Inspired by Intrigue Media

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

13787822_s

Community building.

An unexpected perk from the workshop, “Attract and Engage Customers with Social Media,” offered by Intrigue Media.

In addition to delivering an excellent presentation chock-full of information about Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, Online Marketing Specialist Vanessa Young succeeded in creating a sense of community among the four participants.

Photographer. Lawyer. Furniture Store Manager. Writer. Under normal circumstances, we would never have connected, let alone supported each other on our respective journeys. But that’s exactly what happened yesterday evening in the warm, inviting house at the corner of Westmount and Speedvale in Guelph, Ontario.

As Vanessa outlined fifteen key points to social media success, she included personal anecdotes and examples. We also shared and felt comfortable enough to ask questions and solicit advice throughout the presentation. So much so, that we went thirty minutes overtime!

My favorite nuggets…

  • Diversify and connect the different social media tools.
  • Use contests, deals and giveaways to create more buzz. Several examples were shared, among them Amazon and Starbucks gift cards, free e-readers and book donations to a charity of choice. Contests centered on creating captions and slogans were highly recommended.
  • Post and share relevant content, with the emphasis on quality.
  •  Less is definitely more. Don’t annoy followers with too many posts. Vanessa recommends no more than three Facebook posts a day. Keep the messages short and sweet. Twitter has a built-in limit of 140 characters. For Facebook, keep the posts under 180 characters.
  • Keep the hashtags down to two per tweet.
  • Most important of all—Interact and engage with your friends and followers.

Driving home, so many possibilities whirled through my mind.

  • A Facebook contest to celebrate the launch of the book cover.
  • Caption contests for Isabella, the protagonist of Between Land and Sea.
  • Joining LinkedIn.
  • Revamping my website.

Molte grazie Vanessa Young & Intrigue Media!

The Web Whisperer

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

get_image.phpOn Friday, Web Development Librarian Randy Oldham facilitated a lively and interactive workshop on “Writing for the Web” at the University of Guelph.  In addition to presenting five tips, Oldham provided well-placed humor and several practice exercises to reinforce those concepts. I appreciated the gentle nudges and urged Oldham to consider a sideline as web whisperer.

Be Concise

Words cost us brain power and time. If we imagine that each word has a cost and that our users are cheap, we will make an effort to get our copy down to the bare basic facts.

Good questions to ask…

  • What is the point of this page?
  • What content on the page fits with my expectations?
  • What doesn’t belong with the title?
  • Have I gone into too much detail?
  • Are my introductions too long?

Make it Scannable

Oldham informed us that three out of every ten people are color blind. So, when we use—and often overuse color—we are disenfranchising thirty percent of the population.

Other suggestions…

  • Break information into manageable chunks by using bulleted or numbered lists.
  • Keep sentences short and avoid long paragraphs.
  • Don’t use italics or the underline feature.
  • Use boldface sparingly and smoothly.
  • Select sans serif (Arial) over serif (Times New Roman) font.  Eyes will fatigue when reading serif font. Size: at least 12 point.
  • Avoid unnecessary images.

Use Active Voice

The passive voice is jarring to read and makes us sound robotic. On the other hand, the active voice makes sentences shorter and easier to read.

Be Conversational

Make web content friendly and easy to read.

 Link Smoothly

When you include tons of links on your page, you detract from your credibility. Aim for no more than five links in a post.

Colleen Tully and the Bees

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

colleenftullyColleen Tully likes to talk about beehives. Not the usual topic one would expect during a workshop on “How to Please Both People and Robots with Your Digital Content.” But the senior editor of Fresh Juice and former web food editor at Canadian Living effectively pulled it off yesterday at the University of  Guelph’s Third Annual Writers Workshop.

In comparing the social media community to beehives, Tully outlined the pitfalls that could be encountered by bloggers, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest users. We cannot and should not underestimate the intelligence of bees. The bees  know when we’re being greedy and will react accordingly if we annoy them.

So, how do we please our hive and get noticed in the digital arena?

Consider Tully’s suggestions…

  • Write concise digital content for easily distracted people who need to be entertained.
  • Your title will be vacuumed into other platforms. Make it count!
  • Break up copy into sub-headings, short paragraphs and lists.
  • Do not steal artwork for publication. Use Instagram or your own photographs.
  • Pick the social media platform you like and understand the rest.
  • Use conversations starters to generate more interaction on Facebook and Twitter.
  • Put space and time between each content share. Everyone hates a spammer.
  • Don’t push your content and walk away. Instead, share ideas from other sources, even your competitors.
  • Package content with timelessness, seasonality and trends in mind.
  • Keep in mind that social media is not the ugly stepsister to a website or print publication.

Chatting on Twitter

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

During my first month of Twitter, I did a lot of lurking. While I tweeted on a regular basis, I shied away from participating in the chats. To be truthful, I  found them intimidating. I tried to follow the flow of several concurrent conversations and wondered how anyone could keep up with the constant flow of information.  I had read somewhere that participating in a Twitter chat is like trying to navigate rapids while white water rafting. Not something that I’ve ever tried or even considered.

But after several weeks of lurking, I decided to jump into the conversations. I started with the #Leadfromwithin chat moderated by Lolly Daskall on Tuesday evenings at 8:00 p.m. Once I got into the flow, I didn’t find it that difficult to keep up with the others. I was able to join conversations and retweeted several times. I was also pleased when other people retweeted my tweets.

Since then, I have participated in other chats, among them #Blogchat, #Spiritchat and #BetheOne. Each chat has its own unique flavor and I look forward to these encounters in real time.

Some of the chats are well-structured and allow a few minutes for set questions. In each case, the moderator gently guides us along so that all questions are addressed in the sixty minutes. #Blogchat has a looser format. It is very much like a coffeehouse where everyone is discussing the same topic, but each table has a slightly different take.

Any other chat experiences out there?

My First Month on Twitter

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

17428103_s

At the April dinner meeting for Guelph Writers Ink, Cindy Carroll dared me to start tweeting.  While I had set up a Twitter account in November, I still hadn’t tweeted. I didn’t know where to start and  felt that first tweet had to be significant.  I also wondered if anyone would follow me. No one in my family or immediate circle of friends was tweeting. Would I be the only person on Twitter without any followers?

Cindy had heard my excuses before, but that night she decided to force my hand. She found my Twitter page and became my first follower. I hemmed and hawed and finally came up with a tweet.  As I join the world of Twitter, I keep in mind Nancy Thayer’s famous quotation: It is never too late, in fiction or in life, to revise.

The next morning, I discovered a second follower. I thanked her and tweeted five more times that day.  I was hooked! I started spending more and more time each day in Twitterville, reading other people’s tweets and responding to them. I welcomed all their replies and learned all about mentions and retweets. I discovered some interesting hashtags–#amwriting, #writing, #cozymystery, #leadfromwithin, #lifeclass, #quote–which I visit regularly. I also participated in several twitter chats.

Four weeks have passed and I am very pleased with my Twitter progress.

482 Tweets

557 Followers

703 Following