Friends if you want to really get something out of this post you are going to need to listen to Stairway to Heaven…played backwards. If you don’t understand how that corresponds to the headline than you are too young to be reading this post and probably not old enough to use social media.
Dammit, I forgot that social media is a young person’s game. Hell if I ran some stuffy old organization that needed a social media presence I would go out and hire a teenage gril because everyone knows that teenage girls are social media experts, next to mommy bloggers. Oops, I am probably going to be assaulted by angry mommy bloggers now who will tell me that what I just wrote is offensive.
Listen up ladies, dad bloggers have all the power and we don’t take crap from anyone- we give it out. Really.
Ok, now that we got the opening nonsense out of the way let’s talk turkey about how to make social media work for you. I lied when I said that I have 666 devilish ways to become a social media superstar because you don’t need that many.
Really we could boil it down to three but we are not going to hit those yet because there is a fundamental problem that has to be addressed first.
Why Are You Doing This & What Do You Hope To Accomplish?
It sounds obvious but you might be surprised by the number of people/businesses that are in social media because they think they should be and not because they have a plan or goal in mind.
Reminds me of an old line that I hate but I’ll share it because it is applicable. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Â When you establish a goal you provide yourself with a foundation that you can use to build a plan of action to achieve your goal.
And that my friends brings me to my next point, popularity is not a plan. Want to know why? Watch the video below that my friend Ruth made.
True Power In Social Media
The easiest way to measure true power in social media is very simple. Will people respond to your call to action. What happens if you ask them to click/buy/read/tweet/like something? Will they do it or will the overwhelming majority of them click, surf and move on.
It really doesn’t matter how popular you are if no one responds to your call to action. But like Ruth said, popularity isn’t necessarily the best metric to use to determine success. Comments aren’t currency either.
So my question to you dear reader is simple, why do you blog and what do you hope to accomplish?  Have you established goals for yourself/business? Do you have a plan? What does “success†look like to you? Money? Community? Actions? New friends?
Share it in the comments and let’s talk about it.
P.S. In the near future I will be publishing my own eBook about blogging/social media where you can find more of my thoughts/ideas on this. Sadly you won’t find the missing 663 devilish ways to become a social media superstar but you will find lots of other cool stuff there.
If this sounds like it is of interest scroll down to the bottom left of this page and sign up for my newsletter.
I got in to blogging first. I believed (and still do) that I had stories to tell and a voice to do so. I have a passion for the creativit and as the long term goal, use the blogging as a springboard to something more substantial, ie. a book.
I got in to the rest of social media to promote the blog and it turned into an outlet that feeds my ego and gives me access to an online community that has become more than 140 characters. People I consider friends. People who have helped push my creativity and my desire to be a better writer.
That’s one of the best answers I have read. Blogging can give so much to us and so much is unexpected.
@lorirtaylor
@SocialCatapult Thanks for the RT Vanessa!
@TedRubin pleasure Ted!
@nghannoum like the analogy 🙂
Turn me on dead man…..oh wait, that was the other band’s song…….
I got into social because I was curious and didn’t want to be one of the ‘old’ guys who stayed away because I couldn’t figure it out; like most of my peers. And truthfully? I have far exceeded whatever I thought I’d do. It might be a sad commentary my bar was set so low, but there was really a reason I thought I’d be the ‘Invisible’ blogger.
Can I do much more? Absolutely, but I’m content for now to see where the journey will take me.
There is nothing wrong with being content. Hell, there is a lot to be said for it. Much better for your stress level and peace of mind.
You definitely have a strong handle on this sumbitch. I think you are doing just fine, not that you asked. 😉
Hi Jack,
“Stairway to Heaven” was the theme to my high school prom back in the stone age. And I’m sorry, backwards or any way, that song has been played to death.
I started this entire venture to become a better speaker, that’s it. Now I’ve gone and opened an entire can of worms, because I have a list of 10-100 things I want to do in this space.
Honestly, I’m now digging in for the long-haul and want to make the transition into a business. It will be ever-so-slightly tied to my current branding and design firm, but not entirely.
I have more than a few things in the works.
Your devilish post (and Ruth’s slick Vid) inspired me today.
Looking forward to the eBook. I’m writing my own, and NO, I haven’t taken even a little sip of Koolaid, I’m just digging in and having a great old time. Sounds like you are too!
Hi Craig,
I still like Stairway, but I haven’t listened to it in a while so I am not tired of it. You are a man with a plan and motivation to turn thought into action. That is a very cool thing and inspiring
I am very curious to see where you take this. I am excited for you.
I’m relatively new at blogging, only a year or so , and I started out to learn and share about writing. I do have a new model in mind that I believe could be profitable, but not sure how to get there. Would love advice. Great post. Thanks.
Sheila Good
Hi Sheila,
There are a lot of resources for new bloggers and all that information can be overwhelming. One of the best things you can do is give yourself time. After a year you probably have a pretty good idea of what you like and don’t like about it.
If you find a way to make sure that you like what you are doing you will last longer. People who dislike it disappear. That sounds sort of obvious, but there are a lot of people who stick around because they think they should.
Seems to me to be an awful lot of work if you don’t enjoy it.
I watched Ruth Zive’s video yesterday??? They all run together. The days do! And I wrote a teeny post about social media today, too, on my other blog. ( http://bit.ly/K1gFuV ). So much fun in store! Don’t you think?
The days do run together. Sometimes I have to double check my calendar or I haven’t a clue whether it is the work week or the weekend.
Now come on Jack: I’m waiting for those 663 ways:) My initial goal for my blog: to censor the self-editor in me. To write. Mission accomplished.
I’m soon going on what I’m calling my “Ernest Hemingway writer’s retreat”, hunkering away in a cottage up north…to write, and write, and write and write. Also, to set new goals for my blog. You see, when I set up the skeleton or framework for the blog, it was to support my writing. Although I identify my services, it was not the main focus. But now I want to re-visit my site with fresh eyes, and bring it into congruence with the new goals I’ll be setting. I don’t know what that will look like, but as I say to my clients: “The object of the work is not to have the answer. The object of the work is to do the work, and the answer(s) will become clear.” Cheers! Kaarina P.S. Love the Ruth Zive video. I feel like you’re both living in my brain:)
Hi Kaarina,
Sign up for the newsletter and you will receive 663 editions that cover those missing topics. 😉
That retreat sounds outstanding and I only wish that I had one to look forward to. Enjoy it, I think it will be a very productive time for you. Sometimes a little time away is all it takes to bring some new perspective to a project.
You have inspired an email with this blog post. Please check your inbox.
Yes sir. Will check it.
Hey Jack,
I am sorry, but I couldn’t play stairway to heaven backwards, since I couldn’t find my old records (but I remember how it goes) 🙂
I’m actually not sure about the goals when it comes to social media and business. On one hand, you can have a huge success of being social, get all the comments, retweets, traffic or whatever, and on the other hand, you won’t see any sales or leads from it. Social media is about being social, but going from social to business, that’s the big question.
My goal has been to learn and engage, and if I end up with some clients, that would be awesome. But finding clients via social media or blogging, that’s not my goal. At least not yet.
Hi Jens,
Try this http://youtu.be/9mMJvzZq4hA
When I was a kid people used to get excited about the “satanic” message but I never bought into that.
I don’t see any problem with setting up some goals. Are they attainable? That depends but if you want to try to use it to build your business or to make money from it you need to do something, or so I think.
Needless to say, I love the post Jack :-). Thanks for featuring my video. The other saying I love (though it sort of flies in the face of the point you make here) is “if you want to see God laugh, tell him your plans” (or something along those lines.
I’m an overplanner myself. Compulsively so. So social media has me in a bit of a tizzy since so much of it is fly by the seat of your pants. That’s why it so critical (amidst the noise) to keep your eye on the prize. If you’re using social media for business, you need to understand it’s bottom line impact…and if there is one!
Thanks again Jack and have a great day!
Hi Ruth,
It is a great saying and I like it in Yiddish: Mentsch tracht, Gott lacht. A lot of truth in that but the funny thing is that I hate planning. I like the dynamic environment that social media presents. It is part of the attractions for me.
But at the same time I know that if you don’t do some planning you really do set yourself up for failure. So…
Anyway, your video is great and I am pleased to have been able to share it.