9
What Word in Social Media Don’t You Understand?
Before I started Stage 32, you wouldn’t have caught me dead (or even drunk!) on social media. I just didn’t see the appeal. Friends, family members and business colleagues would spend hours trying to convince me of what I was missing out on. Quick updates, pictures of adorable babies, precious kittens, the best salads on the planet, self-absorbed musings, inspirational quotes, narcissistic behavior, true confessions, selfies, LOLs, LMAOs, LMFAOs and a staggering arsenal of smiley face emoticons. Didn’t I have a desire to be social, to expand my stable of contacts, to be instantly and constantly connected, to be in the know, part of the scene, hardwired to the collective consciousness? I reminded them that I was out socially practically every night, lived a life tethered to devices that afforded me the luxury to receive texts, emails and phone calls, and, honestly, with all due respect, could care less what they had for breakfast, if they thought last night’s episode of Real Housewives of Topeka was amaze-balls, or if their child just had the most excellent bowel movement EVER.
These were my struggles with social media as a human existing. As a creative and entrepreneur, the mass social networks (Facebook, for example) held even less charms for me. They were too broad of scope, seeking an all-inclusive audience, which, of course, was the intent. Friends and acquaintances fought for the same attention and held equal status as, let’s say, like-minded creative colleagues or business relations. Because of this, it was tough to deliver one’s message or share information with a particular segment of your network. Anyone and everyone could chime in and water down the power of your message. Further, due to the popularity and, as mentioned, the inclusiveness of the broader social networks, there was simply too much noise to cut through. When a video of a sheep that barks like a German Shepherd gets 300 likes and 150 comments, but your filmmaking reel gets two and ten respectively (nine of which are “Cool!”), well, you know this isn’t a platform that’s going to help you move the rock on your career.
Further, I believed the social media sites with a bent toward making professional connections worked much better for white-collar professionals. To test my theory, I created an account on a popular networking site aimed at professionals, listing myself as a screenwriter and a producer. Within days I was inundated with network connection requests by other screenwriters, but also from people working in such industries as medicine, insurance and real estate. Still, based on speaking to my screenwriting friends who were on the broader social networks, this was a big step up. I was somewhat encouraged. I researched each person carefully and was stunned to discover how many hadn’t bothered to add a bio or any other information about their past, or their future plans and desires, on their profile pages. Not willing to be “that pessimistic guy out of touch with the times,” I stayed the course, soldiering on and accepting most of the requests to join my network. And that’s when the hammer fell. Next time I logged in, I had over a dozen direct messages. Almost all were requesting that I read their script or support their crowdfunding campaign. This was not networking. This was not social. This was a bull rush. An ambush. I deleted my account immediately.
Over the years, the mass social networks have attempted to address these problems by introducing segmented categories or groups and giving more control to the user as to who can and cannot reach you based on your chosen preferences. In 2010, for example, Facebook did an overhaul on their user privacy settings (something they constantly tweak even today) and introduced Facebook Groups. Groups permitted any member to start a private or public targeted group. Immediately hundreds, if not thousands, of groups related to the business of filmmaking and the disciplines that lie within were created. Sounds great, right? Well, like any gold rush scenario, the opportunists came running full speed. Open, or public, groups were soon being overrun by scammers and spammers rendering relevant and interesting threads useless. Closed groups suffered a different, but similarly destructive fate as many administrators abandoned their pages, effectively preventing new members from being accepted or added to the group. Many groups simply shriveled up and died.
Since then, Facebook has corrected many of these issues. And during this time, I continued to watch certain groups focused on topics I was interested in from afar. I was willing to allow myself to be convinced that there were discussions and information being shared within these groups worthy of my valuable time. But too many times I saw conversations wander off topic. People in the group would still post pictures of their kids, their kittens, their food. Other times, conversations regarding the craft for which the group was formed would turn into pissing matches with no one policing the action, with the mood and atmosphere turning toxic and uninviting.
I wanted something more niche, more focused. I stuck to chat boards and forums related to my chosen discipline, which were not nearly as dynamic as far as networking was concerned, particularly with most of those posting hiding behind aliases. But they were still much more informative and active as far as discussions on a particular craft or the industry in general was concerned. An additional bonus was that most of these boards had moderators who flashed the nightstick if anyone stepped out of line.
While I was conceptualizing Stage 32, I was well aware that in order to give the platform the highest probability for success, I would have to take the concept, mission and brand to the airwaves of the broad social media platforms. Because of my experiences and observations, this was not an easy view to accept. In fact, I pushed back against it with every last ounce of my being for as long as humanly possible. This was a startup. And like many startups about to launch, there were only a couple of people involved in the day to day. That meant wearing many hats and tackling many initiatives on a daily basis. In my mind, these social media efforts would be a time suck. They would cost me precious hours of mindless effort a week to reach a diluted audience. Broad social media, I would cite to anyone who dared to listen, was “evil.” Yes, I was the crazy person on the corner, standing on a milk crate in a ratty robe bellowing into a megaphone.
Still, almost out of pure defiance and, I’m not at all above admitting, with an underlying motive of proving myself right, I set up Stage 32 accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, plus a personal account, as Founder and CEO of Stage 32 (as opposed to Actor/Screenwriter/Producer) as my primary employment, on LinkedIn and went about, well, being social.
Slowly, like a snail pushing a bowling ball, my feelings about broad social media as it related to promoting, engaging and getting others to carry the message about the concept, mission and brand of Stage 32 changed from evil, to necessary evil, to necessary, to imperative. Let me be clear, this is the Founder and CEO of Stage 32 speaking, not the actor, screenwriter, producer. The entrepreneur in me had become a true believer. The creative in me remained an agnostic.
I had, of course, been using Stage 32 for my own creative devices in an effort to further my career. Working within the framework of a niche community of people who shared my interests and had relatable experiences inspired me to be more social, open and active. Although people knew I ran the joint, I made sure my contributions to the network put an emphasis on my creative pursuits and away from my day to day business responsibilities in running the site: just another creative looking to get things done. I measured my success in not only how I was doing with that juggling act, but the proof of concept of the site itself by contacts made or accomplishments within the four walls of the site leading to positive movement in my creative career. And over that first year, there were many, which only served to stoke my fires even further. As it related to my creative pursuits, the only non-Stage 32 participation remained on dedicated acting, screenwriting and filmmaking chat boards and forums. But because of the success I was having within my own site, and tiring of the anonymity prevalent on these sites, I found myself becoming a passive rather than active participant, and then a participant no longer.
In the meantime, I worked our Stage 32 social media accounts with increasing gusto. Almost daily, I would be asked for information regarding my personal social media accounts. I still didn’t see a reason to create any for myself. But in running our business accounts, I found myself being pulled by one broad social media platform that intrigued me more than most. One that I found myself gravitating to and focusing on much more than the others. One that which, ultimately, three years after starting Stage 32, I finally bit the bullet and opened a personal account.
The Power of 140 Characters
In August of 2014, cloaked with trepidation, I created a personal account for myself on Twitter. There were many reasons why I chose this to be the broad based social medium platform to promote my personal (creative and business) brand, but the biggest was this: I didn’t see Twitter as a broad based platform at all. What I saw was an open, all-inclusive network that could be tailored toward the feel of a niche network at the discretion and whims of the individual account holder.
I wanted to follow and connect with film, television and theater creatives along with entertainment and tech journalists, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and those working within the world of venture capital, to name a few. Although this was a personal account and I have other hobbies and interests such as sports, fitness, wine and meditation, my goal was to keep my Twitter newsfeed dedicated to the things that would help me either as the CEO of Stage 32 or in my creative endeavors. Sure, I would still tweet about my beloved New York Rangers, workout routines I was trying out, meditation apps I found useful or any other variety of interests from wine to travel, but only for the purposes of presenting a rounded persona of who I am and what I’m about. I didn’t need people who shared or wanted to comment on my hobbies or interests cluttering up and diluting my news stream. I could (and would) find them on my own and in my own time if and when I so desired.
So while this was to be a personal account, you would be right to say I kept my interests focused on my professional interests. However, I committed myself to creating tweets that were personal, insightful and informative. After years of tweets from behind the logo of our @Stage32 Twitter and other Stage 32 social media accounts (outside of Stage 32 where I was always posting from in front of the brand or, if you will, as the brand), I wanted people to get to know the man behind the curtain. And although I can’t take credit for coming up with it, I wanted my Twitter account name to be reflective of my personality as well, which was how @RBwalksintoabar was created.
Now there were some detractors that thought this handle to be unprofessional. Why not @RBCEO or @RBwriterproducer, they wondered. Why not? Because it’s boring. Because it’s not reflective of sense of humor, style or personality. Because it’s not inviting or interesting. Because I have 140 characters in my bio to explain who I am (more on this below). And most of all, because it’s not social.
So, my Twitter handle locked in, the challenge I now faced was being social. Now, look, I’m a very social guy. More people in my life have asked me if I ever shut up as opposed to asking if I ever talk. Put me in the proper setting and I can chatter the paint offthe walls and have the most staid swinging from the chandeliers. But place me behind a computer with a blinking cursor begging for 140 characters about what’s going on in my life or what’s on my mind and, well … not so much. With the @stage32 account, this came easy. The banter was usually inspired by and related to content I posted or questions about Stage 32. Now I was about to go out and attempt to give people who chose to follow me a reason to continue following me, retweet and favorite my posts, add me to relevant lists and spread the word about all the brilliant, funny and relevant things I had to say.
However, although the approach for the @stage32 and other Stage 32 social media accounts were different than what I was about to embark on with my @ RBwalksintoabar account, the experience I had gained through running those accounts was invaluable. I had seen the mistakes, the shortsighted approaches and the failed engagement campaigns. I had seen the narcissistic, selfish and downright foolish approaches. I had seen people who had tried to build a following by broadcasting the same message over and over crash and burn. And I had seen those who looked to inspire and move a crowd miscalculate so badly that the very crowd they were hoping to carry their message picked up pitchforks and torches and ran them the hell out of the village.
Regardless of the differences in the setting, posting technique, groupings or networking parameters of any broad based social networks I review, the mistakes made by the member base remain the same. Whether bred by pomposity, entitlement, chutzpah or simply a lack of initiative in educating one’s self on how best to utilize a particular platform, the results can be fatal. The good news: These mistakes are easily avoidable. The better news: Because so many people do not take the time to learn how to use social media correctly, you’ll have a considerable advantage of being seen, heard, admired and followed by doing things right.
So with a nod to the now retired and Rip Van Winkle bearded David Letter-man, from the home office in Manhattan Beach, California, here are the Top 10 Mistakes Made on Social Media (and How You Can Avoid Making Them).
Fix it!
1 You’re Strictly a Broadcaster
Sometimes a rookie mistake, sometimes an uneducated mistake, sometimes a mistake fostered by impatience, most times one of those blinded by ego and hubris mistakes, being strictly a broadcaster represents the most common and most viper venom deadly mistake you can make on social media. This is arguably the most important lesson in this entire book if you are planning on using social media as a means of crowdsourcing. You simply will not build, engage and move an audience if you are strictly broadcasting. To the contrary, you will be ignored or blocked at best, and invite abuse at worst.
Social media is all about engagement and interaction. It’s about give and take. Most people get that backwards. Even worse, many others live their social media existence under the banner of take and take; a guaranteed losing strategy if ever there was one.
You know how your grandmother used to preach that God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason? Well most social media pages have many “Reply” buttons but only one spot to make a new post for a similar reason.
It’s easy to find people with like-minded interests. Depending on which platform you use, and if you’ve handled your contacts correctly, you’ll have plenty of posts from people in your network to which you can respond. Take some time. Be smart and prudent in your approach. Respond to 20 posts before you make an original one yourself. Then watch as the number of people who want to be in your orbit (and in your network) rises.
2 You’re a Narcissist
Sorry, but some of you reading this have a “Me” problem. And some of you may not be like this in the real world, but you are on social media.
You want proof? As I type this, our @stage32 Twitter account has slightly under 200,000 followers. I spent the last hour pouring over ten days’ worth of posts to our stream, over 350 in total. Not responses to original posts or content, mind you, but posts directed strictly at the @stage32 account. Here’s what I found:
▸ 17% of them included demands.
“Yo! Look at my acting reel”
“Hey my video is awesome. Check it out.”
“My s*** is sick … Retweet my s*** to your followers”
“Donate some bucks to my campaign. You can afford it.”
Let it be known that these are all actual tweets. Worth noting: The last genius didn’t even attach a link to said campaign.
- 97% of the posters making demands weren’t even following the @stage32 account. They simply looked at the fact that our account has over 170,000 followers and got wide-eyed and greedy.
- Of the last 50 tweets promoting crowdfunding campaigns who applied some variation of the “Yo, I don’t know you, but give me money” approach to soliciting funds, guess how many hit their goal? Not. One. In fact, only two of them passed the 50% mark of the proposed raise, with the high water mark being 64%.
- Further still, of those 50 tweets I mention above, 29 of those posting decided that a great marketing approach would be to tweet the same exact message to literally dozens of accounts. This is akin to walking into a social gathering, approaching each person and screaming “ME!” Odds are, security would escort you out. The result on social media is worse. You’ll get blocked.
All of this brings me to …
3 You Don’t Cultivate Relationships
Everyone in this world is looking to accomplish something. Whether it’s to climb Everest or achieve legendary status as The World’s Laziest Human, everyone has a goal. The same holds true for people investing time on social media. But an investment of time doesn’t necessarily equal success, as points #1 and #2 in this section illustrate. And even if you course-correct your method of how you deliver a message, you’ve only solved a piece of the puzzle. You have to identify the individuals or group to which you want to deliver your message. You have to identify and then build a network complimentary to your end goals.
For example, I began building an audience for this book nine months before I wrote word one. On social media, I did this by identifying and targeting people I felt would be interested in the subject of my initiative. I provided these new users with content I believed would be interesting and of use to them. I answered and asked questions. In short, I stayed active and in constant communication.
I also reached out and began communicating with film industry professionals I hoped would contribute material to the book, as well as filmmakers, producers, marketers (and the like) who I hoped would be interested in reading the book. I asked for advice. I offered my viewpoint and asked if I was missing any details that might be essential to the overall subject of crowdsourcing. Essentially, by taking this tack, I was crowdsourcing the material, in effect killing two birds with one stone; getting people who might want to contribute to or read the book involved and invested.
A very important point: It’s safe to say that every single person I accepted into my social media realm has myriad dreams of their own, desires and missions related to their pursuits in film. This also means that every single person I have accepted into my social media realm is most likely on social media themselves for a reason beyond simply networking—educational, promotional, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing reasons, for example. I was acutely aware of this. When someone was feeling challenged in a certain area, I offered advice or unearthed and posted a piece of content I believe would ease their anxieties and help their cause. I embraced a collaborative, selfless spirit. Not surprisingly, by posting an inclusive and informative string of information, I accumulated a legion of supporters willing to line up beside me.
Social media relationships are no different than real world relationships. This is something that’s often forgotten when sitting alone behind the soft glow of the computer screen. But make no mistake, just because you can’t actually see a person’s face when you are making a direct post to someone, this is a face-to-face interaction and should be treated as such, even if on the surface it’s avatar to avatar. Your goal is to build trust and credibility. I’ve outlined a few ways you can make that happen over time, but there’s a way to do it instantly and quite painlessly. How, RB, you ask? How?
Ask questions.
The horror! But what about me? (He cried, arms thrown to the heavens.)
Patience, grasshopper.
When you have a small network, it’s very easy to take time to address people individually. Take a look at a person’s bio (assuming they have one … if they don’t, feel free to move on. That’s their problem, not yours), see what their interests are, where they’ve been, where they’re going. Ask them about their projects. Have they read any good books on Subject X lately? How long have they been practicing their craft? What’s their favorite movie? Where were they, exactly, in that gorgeous beach photo they posted? The one where they’re holding a cocktail housed in a coconut? You get the idea.
This kind of engagement not only breaks through the natural defense barrier many harbor on social media, but it also leads to likes, favorites, retweets or whatever other positive indicators your network of choice offers. This leads to more followers. This leads to trust. This leads to support.
But what if you have a huge network and don’t have the time to address every new person who enters your realm? Well, first off, congratulations, you’re doing something right. But the rules remain the same. Only instead of addressing each person individually, post questions to the group. Some examples of first-thing-in-the-morning posts on my accounts were as follows:
- Today is another day to do something creative. What’s your plan?
- What’s the best independent film you’ve seen this year and why?
- If you’ve run a crowdfunding campaign, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
- What made you choose your discipline of choice? We’re you born with this dream or did it come later in life?
- If you could accomplish one creative goal this year, what would it be?
- As a creative, what’s the single best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
- Do you have mentors? How have they helped you?
- Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?
All of these posts put the spotlight on the reader. They invite engagement and show selflessness. But this is only part of the equation. You must take the time to respond to each and every person who responds. You don’t have the time? Find the time. Why? Because it’s worth the time. As we’ve discussed, one day you are going to have something to present to the people in your network. You’re going to have an “Ask.” And as the great Maya Angelou wisely stated, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”1
People will remember how you treated them, good or bad. And they will remember if and how you engaged them. These variables will make the difference in whether they support you or dismiss you, whether they ignore your message or carry it forward.
4 You’re on Too Many Networks
I host a monthly webcast on Stage 32 called On Stage With RB. It’s usually a 3-hour affair where I go over site features, bring on guests from the film, television and theater industries and answer inquiries from the community. As you might imagine, I’m often asked questions regarding how best to utilize social media. The most common kickback I get from the advice I dole out is that it’s too time consuming, that there’s simply too many networks to effectively gain any traction. When I get this response, I’ll usually ask the member to send me their social media outline and daily plan—the number of sites they’re on, the number of posts they make, whether they post original or previously published content, examples of their posts and other pertinent information. I would say nine times out of ten the problem is identifiable within two seconds: They’re simply on too many networks.
We’ve all heard the saying that it’s better to do one thing well than ten things half-baked. The same fact holds true for spreading yourself too thin with your social media efforts. Now, it is possible and, in many ways, essential, to do more than one thing well within the framework of a particular social media network. But trying to do those same things well across a plethora of networks will inevitably cause your intent and message to be diluted rather than saturated.
As previously mentioned, for my creative endeavors I have chosen Twitter as my mass social media site and Stage 32 as my niche social media site. This has served me very well as I’ve landed jobs, acquired my screenwriting manager and made other influential contacts, including the one that led me to the offer to write this book, through those platforms.
On the business (Founder/CEO) side, I have chosen Twitter and LinkedIn as my mass social media sites, although I use them in a very niche way, carefully targeting my audience. And to be straight up about it, I use Twitter for this purpose much more than LinkedIn, which for my purposes mainly serves as a directory of contacts.
By sticking to only two full time platforms (Twitter and Stage 32) and one (very) part-time platform (LinkedIn), I can manage my social media accounts with ease and with very little strain on my time. Hell, I can fly through a day’s worth of Twitter responses while cooking a mean chicken pizzaiola with parmesan polenta while sipping a vintage Barolo (take that, Batali!). And with the endless supply of third party social media tools out there which allow for timed posts and other helpful time savers (more below), managing an account has never been easier.
What number of social media accounts is right for you? That’s up to you to decide. But if your excuse is not enough time, you’re on too many.
5 You’re Not Painting the Right Picture of Yourself
The beauty of most social media platforms is that they allow you to provide as much personal and professional information as possible (Twitter and their 140 character limit is an exception). Yet, I’m consistently floored by how many people do not take the time to utilize these vital sections. This is your time to shine, an invitation to step out into the light and present your best self. Further, because you’ve now changed your social media habits and are no longer being strictly a narcissistic broadcaster and are cultivating relationships and posting pertinent, interesting and engaging content, you are successfully inviting people to click on your profile in an effort to learn more about you, your experience, your hopes and your dreams. If the biographical section of your profile is blank, lacking or missing the proper media (i.e. you state you’re an experienced filmmaker, but have no reel posted), guess what? You’ve not only made a horrible first impression, one that states you’re lazy at best, can’t be bothered at worst, but you likely will not get a chance to make a second one.
Let’s take that real world example again. Would you show up to an open job interview without a resume? Would you show up at an audition without a headshot? Would you show up to a first meeting with a producer regarding the prospect of being hired for a filmmaking gig without a reel of your work? Of course not. (I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt here.) So if your end game is, at the very least, to make new and important contacts that could help move the needle on your career, why would you give anyone looking at your profile no information about where you’ve been and where you hope to go? Why would you not share your headshots, your loglines or screenplays (if registered with the Writer’s Guild of America, West and Library of Congress, please), your acting, cinematography or filmmaking reels? Why wouldn’t you list your credits and awards you’ve been nominated for or won (if applicable)? This is actually your chance to be a narcissist! Take advantage!
According to various social media reports, anywhere from 30–37% of active social media users (defined as those logging in at least twice per week) have zero information in their bio fields. Think about that. Three to nearly four out of ten! It’s madness, I tell you … Madness! Further, and I’m sure the Beastie Boys would agree, it’s sabotage.
In late 2015, we sent a survey out to over 1,600 Stage 32 members who had hired another Stage 32 member to fill a cast or crew role for a project through the site and asked them the following question: When looking at a member’s profile, what constituted the most important criteria instrumental in your desire to contact or hire that individual? Ninety-one percent chose: Comprehensive biography/portfolio.
Many film industry professionals I know who use social media as a method of networking, hiring employees or securing cast and crew will not look twice at a network request without a bio or other pertinent content. The general attitude is: If it’s not worth their time, it’s not worth my time. I understand, relate to and hold the same beliefs. But what about those who are uneducated about the world of social media, you say? I have never seen a social media platform worth its salt that does not have a thorough FAQ or Help section. And, of course, there’s Google, which by its very existence effectively eliminates all “I don’t know how” excuses in the modern internet age.
Look at filling out your bio and all other informational sections of your profile as a text selfie, but one that everyone actually wants to see! And if you are using a platform that allows you opportunity to post videos and photos, do so.
6 You Post Stale Content—Or No Content at All
We’ve already talked about posting and broadcasting nothing but self-serving content, but posting stale content—either content that is very old or has been seen a million times before—will also cause people to tune you out in equal measure. Time is a valuable commodity. Check that. Time is our most valuable commodity. You want people whom you target or whom are in your network to view you as someone worthy of their time. Further, if you are utilizing social media as a method of gaining trust and, in turn, a following for a particular crowdsourcing campaign, you want to be perceived as very knowledgeable in the topic you post most about or about which you are hoping to be perceived as an expert. This means not only posting relevant and timely articles, infographs and videos pertinent to the subject at hand, but also creating original content as well. And now that you are on fewer social media sites, you have more time to create original content!
Let me stress, original content, especially when attempting to establish yourself as an expert in a particular area, will carry you much further than content created by another source, especially as you gain juice as a trusted voice in that area. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pepper your feed with content from other fertile minds, but make sure to have an opinion on that material as well.
One other perk about posting original content you won’t get from posting non-original content: If your work is engaging, pointed and, where possible, ripe for debate, you will elicit a reaction. If the reaction is positive, your crowdsourcing efforts will begin taking root and you can ask those providing a positive response to carry the message forth by sharing the content. If the reaction is negative, the door has been opened for (peaceful and rational, please) debate, which will further allow you the opportunity to put your expertise on display.
Create and engage. Thank and ask. Win the moment.
7 You Let Your Emotions Get the Best of You
For the start of this section, I turn the microphone over to monk and poet extraordinaire, John Lydgate. John, how do you feel about engaging people on social media?
“You can please some of the people all the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”2
John was born in 1370, and by all accounts was a brilliant and forward thinking individual, so I’m quite certain he had Facebook in mind when he spoke these very astute words. OK, I kid. He was talking about society as a whole, but his lesson is one you should carry with you on social media.
Look, not everyone is going to agree with you. Not everyone is going to like you. You’re not going to catch everyone on their best day. And you are inevitably going to run into someone who has Big Ball Syndrome, defined as anyone who has the testicular fortitude to spout something nasty your way while sitting safely behind the soft glow of their computer screen that they would never in a million years say directly to your face.
For some, negative behavior directed their way is a deal breaker and turns them off from social media forever. Don’t let this happen to you. Don’t let negative comments rob you of utilizing one of the most vital networking tools in your arsenal. Instead of surrendering power, seize and wield it.
I look at every unfounded, nasty attack on my words, thoughts or character as an opportunity not only to prove my intelligence and knowledge on a particular subject, but to further prove myself as a (somewhat) sane and magnanimous human.
I make my points … pointedly, but I kill’em with kindness doing so.
How you handle yourself on social media can make or break you. Remember, you may be responding to only one person, but an entire audience is watching—an audience you hope to one day deploy carrying your message. You can, and should, be pointed and show authority, but in a way that establishes that you’re level headed and in control.
And if the abuse continues, if the culprit is miserable for the sake of being miserable, block or remove him or her from your network and keep to your mission.
8 You Go for Quantity Instead of Quality
I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to teach, mentor and speak on panels regarding social media and networking all over the world. I always find it quite interesting how many people will approach me after a class or conference session and gush about the size of their networks. I’ll ask them how they managed to grow such a large network without, you know, being Lady GaGa. Was this all organic growth? Did they do something noteworthy? Are these fans of their work? Colleagues? Associates?
With the rarest of exceptions, the networks in question were built by buying followers or likes or by using mass (and time consuming) following and unfollowing methods and tricks.
I often ask them what they intend to do with such a large following. I’ve never once received an answer back that made sense. Most simply cite the perception advantages that come along with having such a large number of likes or followers.
So let’s talk about perception for a second, because it is important. To me, there are two main areas where perception plays into social media:
1 The Number of Followers You Have
I’m not going to deny that there is a lemming aspect to social media. People see a big follower number and they want to follow that person too, although—and this is not cynical, but rooted in reality—with an ulterior motive in mind. Perhaps they want to engage you. Your entire network sees you trading some back and forth with this person and a few here and there decide to follow them. That’s a win for them. Perhaps they post something to you about a project they’re working on, a book they’re writing, a crowd-funding campaign they have running. If you respond, that’s a win for them.
Maybe they have no agenda or ulterior motive. Maybe they’re just another follower. But does that help you in your crowdsourcing efforts in any way? I think not.
2 The Quality of Your Posts
That brings me to the perception that comes with the quality of your posts. You’re reading this book because you want to learn more about crowdsourcing. We’ve already talked often about identifying a crowd and engaging them. So, yes, you could and should identify and follow people you believe would be engaged by and gain from your insights on a particular subject or subjects. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. But organic growth is the most powerful growth you can have on social media. It’s people taking the material you’re posting and sharing and retweeting that material with others in their network who have a similar passion for the material. The more people you have in your network who will not care about the material you’re posting, the more noise there is and the harder it is to be heard.
Bottom line: As it relates to crowdsourcing efforts on social media, it’s better to have 10,000 targeted followers than 100,000 random followers.
9 You Use Poor Grammar and Spelling or Post Broken Links
Yes. It matters.
You can be the most well versed human on the planet on a particular subject. If you make posts with spelling and grammatical errors or, worse, post links to original content that is sloppy, ill formatted and mistake laden, no one is going to take you seriously, never mind line up to be a disciple of you and your message.
Take the time. We live in a world where just about every program and application comes equipped with a spell checker. Blog software practically formats itself. Most social media sites even shorten links for you.
Make sure you have no underlined (misspelled) words. Make sure your syntax is correct. Make sure you have no formatting issues. Make sure your links actually go where intended.
It all takes a few seconds. And I’ll repeat …
It matters.
10 You Don’t Use Any of the Endless Supply of Social Media Posting and Analytical Programs Available
Remember, if you are handling your crowdsourcing efforts correctly, you’re effectively running a campaign. And any good campaign not only needs to run around the clock, but requires analytics so that individual facets of the strategy or overall initiatives can be bulked up or wiped out entirely depending upon user response and engagement.
Unless you’re undead (and if you are, I envy your productivity potential), you’re probably not awake 24 hours a day. Nor do you likely have the time, resources and capital to put someone in charge of posting while you sleep. With the variety of posting software and applications available for the mass social media sites such as Buffer (www.bufferapp.com) and Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com), to name a couple, that’s quite OK. Simply enter your posts and the time you’d like the posts to run, and have a restful slumber. Just remember to reply to those who responded overnight while you’re having your morning cup of java.
Buffer and Hootsuite as well as a variety of others also offer valuable analytics tools. Some of these are free and some range from a few dollars to tens of dollars per month (almost all offer a free trial). Be sure to check out the features and terms and read some user reviews (remember, Google is your friend) before committing.
Want to know how many people clicked on a particular link? Want to know the impact your content is having on your follower base? Want to know what time of day seems to be the best for posting certain material? Want to know how that tweak in your strategy is working out? Of course you do! Your campaign’s success hinges on the answers. Utilize an analytics program and eliminate the guesswork. Information is more than power; it provides peace of mind.
But Don’t Just Take My Word for it
You don’t really want another opinion on this, do you?
OK, fine.
Jessica Sitomer is a long-time expert in the entertainment industry, having worked in all areas, from writing and acting to directing and development. She’s produced a sitcom pilot as well as two television series, one for MTV and one that is, as I type this, in post-production. Previously, she worked in development for Debra Hill and with Antonio Banderas on his directorial debut, Crazy in Alabama.
Simultaneously, for 17 years, she’s been a career coach for entertainment industry professionals. Within that period she served for seven years as the in-house career coach for the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600. There she coached over 1,000 people one-on-one.
In January of 2008, Sitomer launched her own business, The Greenlight Coach, Inc. Her upcoming reality show, Lights, Camera, Action!, is Top Chef meets The Apprentice for the entertainment industry. Only instead of getting contestants fired, the goal is to get them hired! Much more noble and progressive, wouldn’t you say?
Jessica has toured the world sharing her knowledge as a keynote, college and seminar speaker who teaches both professional and novice how to generate more work, better work or different work in the entertainment field.
Further, Jessica is also an author. Her outstanding book And… Action! Powerful, Proven, and Proactive Strategies to Achieve Success in the Entertainment Industry is available on Amazon. She also offers free advice on her website www.theGreenlightCoach.com.3
And finally, besides being a dear friend, Jessica is also a colleague. I’ve been honored to have her teach many of the most popular Next Level webinars (stage32. com/webinars) we’ve ever had on Stage 32, such as How to Move to L.A. and Work in Entertainment, Create Stability in the Freelance Industries, How to Network as an “Out of Towner” and Get an Agent and Rock Episodic Season!
I feel like Jessica is qualified to ring in on this subject? How about you? Cool … Let’s move on.
Although Jessica outlines numerous rules and proper practices in her Green-light Marketing Blueprint Seminar, I asked if she would be kind enough to share with us a few of her top tips for building relationships on social media. As is her nature, she selflessly and enthusiastically agreed.
Greenlight Coach Jessica Sitomer’s three simple and easy rules to get started on building relationships on social media:
Rule #1—Comment on Peoples’ Status Updates
This is the first step to building an actual friendship. By commenting on a person’s status, you are making yourself known as well as helping draw attention to what the person shared. A win-win. Remember, the goal is to be social. Don’t be afraid to take the first step in creating a dialogue or simply showing someone you’re paying attention.
Rule #2—Acknowledge People for Their Success in Your Own Status Update
I love to pause a television show when I see the name of a client or friend pop up, grab my camera and snap a photo of the name on the screen. Then, I can post the picture with a congratulatory status update that includes his or her name, the name of the show, the network the show is on and the day/time it airs. Not only does this give him or her exposure, but it shows that I’m appreciative of them and their work.
This tip can be applied to just about any situation. Someone in your network have a good day? Send some good cheer their way and watch the relationship blossom. Positive energy goes a long way.
Rule #3—Share Yourself as Well as Your Business
Too many people post only about what they do in the industry and not about who they are. This is a big mistake. Like attracts like. If you want to help you, first they have to know you. Share photos that include hobbies, family, pets, travel, favorite movies/television shows, etc. Now, some people go overboard the other way, and that’s not great either. The key is to find balance. Being one dimensional will present you in one light over and over, and that will cause people to tune out.
Just like watching your favorite character on TV makes you feel like “you know” the actor, what you put out there on social media makes your online audience feel like they know you. Creating a strong, balanced online presence on social media will not only expand the pool of people you are trying to reach, but make it much more likely that people will be willing to help and support you.
In Summary
Social media represents the biggest weapon in your online crowdsourcing efforts. It’s a rocket launcher designed to deliver your message to the—if you’ve handled your identifying process correctly—targeted masses. This is one area where the investment of time can pay quick and steady dividends. But you must use your time wisely and not get sucked in by persistent and ever present white noise or by spreading yourself (and your message) thin by utilizing too many platforms. Have a plan, act on it, review and adjust. Be cool, be giving, be honest, be magnanimous and don’t, when the time is right, be afraid of the “Ask.”
Notes
1 https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/5934-i-ve-learned-that-people-will-forget-what-you-said-people
2 https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/699462-you-can-please-some-of-the-people-allof-the
3 https://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Proactive-Strategies-Entertainment-Industry/dp/1583852840