An intro to social media strategy

Many organizations simply ignore the proper ways of interacting before they introduce their brand to social media. They are quick to jump in because it’s trendy and popular, but just having accounts on various popular sites does not guarantee a positive return. In fact, Twitter can harm as easily as it can help if you’re not properly prepared.

The most common mistake of new Twitterers is letting their account become stale after only a few days. Ideally, you’ll want to “tweet” at least 2-3 times a day so that each time someone looks at your page, there is something new for them to see. Often I see pages from institutions that only update once a week or perhaps haven’t updated in over a month. Rarely do I give them the benefit of a doubt that “well maybe they’re just busy lately. I’ll check back next week.” This is common behavior for social users: if it isn’t appealing the first time, they don’t come back a second.

Another frequent mistake from organizations is that they use Twitter only to post events and announcements. While this is acceptable if you have a large following (which means that people are already interested in what you are doing and can therefore get away with it), it is not an effective strategy for gaining followers initially (going back to the significance of the first impression).

I have recommended to my team here in web services to tweet at least twice a day. Additionally, we all have separate personal accounts that we use frequently to keep focused on the true purpose of Twitter: interaction. On Terry College’s official Twitter (@terrycollege), we try to keep the verbiage casual and social. We only announce a few events each week, and we offer several direct, personalized messages to individual followers (students and alumni, mostly) that keep the friendly interactions rolling.

We have not even advertised our own Twitter/Facebook/YouTube accounts on the website yet because we’re still tweaking and synchronizing our brand’s personality on each. We have been now since late last year.

Social Phenomenon: Chick-fil-A

So what is the deal with Chick-fil-A? Do you love it? I have discovered most people either love it or hate it, and usually the thing people hate most about it is how much other people love it. Well I recently observed that I tend to stereotype people that eat at Chick-fil-A.

A few days ago, I went on a sorority date night (SAO, holla!) to a putt-putt golf course. My date and I noticed two girls walking around with Chick-fil-A cups and as we watched them, we realized that we were drawn to them. We wanted to be in their social circle. Which we are, they were two girls we know and are friends with already. Crazy revelation, though! We agreed that in general, seeing a person and being able to associate them with Chick-fil-A makes them more approachable than they would be otherwise. It makes us want to be friends with them.

For example: suppose I saw this amazingly gorgeous girl walking around campus (not uncommon in Athens, GA). Naturally I'd be attracted to her, but I'd immediately assume she was out of my league or a typical downtowner (party gals that go out and get drunk every weekend are not my type). But take that same girl, and put a Chick-fil-A cup in her hand, and suddenly "I have a chance." "I bet we could be friends." "She looks like a really nice person." "I'd like to meet her." "I'll bet we have a lot in common." "She's probably a Christian."

Have you noticed anything like this in your public interactions? It doesn't have to be Chick-fil-A, but is there some arbitrary trait that draws you to people you don't know? Comment it here!

Severe Weather, How Exciting!

I received this email today from the UGA Office of Security & Emergency Preparedness.

News like this, for me, is really exciting! For people that don't love storms though, it might be a good idea for you to know what's coming...

---------------Original Message---------------

Re: Potential severe weather Friday, April 10th

The National Weather Service out of Peachtree City held a conference call about the possibility of severe weather this evening.  We are at a moderate risk for severe weather from 6pm to 10pm. For the Athens area, this is what is forecasted:

6:00 PM - 10:00 PM

• The major threat will be from large hail and gusty winds
  
• Hail ½ inch to 1 inch in size possible
  
• Winds from 60-70 miles/hour possible
  
• There is the possibility of isolated thunderstorms, but the threat from hail and winds is thought to be greater
  
• ½ inch of rain is expected
  
• The storm should be fast moving and leave quickly
  

As a reminder, there are three outdoor tornado sirens located on campus (Chemistry Bldg., Botanical Gardens and Married Housing-Rogers Rd.) which are activated by Athens-Clarke County during a Tornado Warning. In addition, UGAAlert is activated by UGA Police Communications during a Tornado Warning issued for any part of Clarke County. Redundant weather monitoring using NOAA weather radios, listening to AM/FM radio, watching local television or signing up for free weather alerts at www.weather.com  , www.weatherbug.com  or www.breakingweather.com is also strongly encouraged.

John Newton

Office of Security & Emergency Preparedness

University of Georgia

---------------End of Message---------------

"Christian" isn't a title...

...it's a lifestyle.

Use caution when saying you are a Christian or when someone tells you that they are Christian. It's a kind of "American expectation" to be a Christian, and so most people will claim to be and are convinced that they are, even if their lifestyle speaks against it.

On my Facebook profile I have this quote: "'Christian' isn't a title, it's a lifestyle." The Bible lays out instructions several times on how Christians should be living their lives. It even warns us to be wary of people that say they are Christian and are not living as they should be, because their religion is "worthless" (James 1). You cannot write off Christianity as false because some people live hypocritically. I dare say that hypocritical Christians are not Christians at all. The Bible teaches love, humility, and generosity. So you must observe how people are living and decide for yourself whether their actions match what the Bible prescribes as genuine and right.

It takes more than church attendance to follow Christ. Think of it in this light: what will you say to God about how you've lived your life when you stand before Him in heaven? There is forgiveness, and God willingly forgets your sin when you commit your life to living for Him.

See Galatians 5:19-26 (might be tough to grasp, read it slow)

Christians: Please hold me accountable if you believe anything I've said to be misrepresenting.

New Blog Design

So I just redesigned my blog. This style will better match the new website that I'm working on for fowlertown.com.

This is the part where I stop writing and I simply ask for feedback. How do you like the colors? Too girly? (haha) If you have any suggestions, feel free to post them here. Or if you think you can do better, let me know and we'll talk about it. :D