What are your goals?

Such a simple question, but it often times difficult for social media managers to answer—much to their surprise! I love this example from Kim Garst: Let’s say you want to “get in shape”. Getting “in shape” is a subjective term. How do you know when you are there? Most people use weight as an indicator of what kind of shape they are in and most people have a “number” of pounds that they want to lose. So, let’s say you set a goal to lose 30 pounds and that when you do you are going to consider yourself “in shape”. Now we have a goal with a measurable objective. You can track your progress towards that goal every time you step on the scale. If you want to take it a step further, give yourself a deadline. “I want to lose 30 pounds before my high school reunion in 4 months”.

So if we are comfortable setting and working goals for most everything else, why do so few people do it with social media?

My advice is to start big and work down. Start by asking yourself these questions:

• What exactly do you want social media to do for you/your company? 
• Do you want to use it to improve your customer service? 
• Do you want to use it to boost attendance at your events? 
• Do you want to use it to sell products and services? 

Goal setting is really important. Most of the time people set a performance indicator without knowing what, if any goal that supports. They say, “I want 50,000 Facebook Fans.” But why? Having 50,000 fans means nothing if it does not support your overall goals and objectives.

Before you move forward with your social media actions, stop and take a few minutes and write down your social media goals. Where possible make goals objective and attach a deadline.

If you need a little help in deciding what your goals should be, remember the S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting method. Make sure your goals are Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.

Now it's time to build your strategy.

Now that you have planned out and attainable social media goals, it's time to put together a strategy to reach those goals.

The basic social media sites you use and the amount of resources you need to commit to each varies dramatically based on your goals. All too often people think, for example, they have to use Facebook because "it's the most popular" or they want to exclude Twitter altogether because they "don't get it." This isn't the right attitude for developing your strategy. Although your personal opinion matters, choosing the right social media sites to support your goals matters more.

Going back to Kim's analogy: Imagine if you said “Well, I hate vegetables, but I love hot fudge sundaes, so I am going to eat 3 hot fudge sundaes every day to lose weight!”

If you sell retail goods to women, then Pinterest is the place for you. High end professional services? Then LinkedIn is a good place to spend much of your time. Are you a photographer? Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are definitely more photo and graphics driven. You are more likely to connect to your ideal client there.



It's important that you understand the capabilities of all the social platforms as well as their popular target demographics and what types of content performs well.

On top of picking the right social media platform, your strategy should also include other items such as the resources you will need, key performance indicators (KPI’s), and the measurement tools you will use to track them among other things.

Stop and prepare.

It's so easy at this point to just go out and start posting. However, you should stop and prepare for your launch ahead of time.

Now that you have identified the social media sites you are going to use and established your social media goals and strategy, take some time to prepare before you start generating content. Take this time to

• Create credible, consistent branding to be used across all of your social media sites
• Optimize your profile with website links, keywords
• Update your “About” sections
• Inter-connect sites or create easy navigation amongst them where possible
• Learn the basics on how to use the site, the basic terms of service and etiquette

These days the #1 trusted resource for consumers is peer-to-peer reviews and word or mouth testimonials and, thanks to the wonderful digital world we live in, most of these recommendations happen through social media.

And the most trusted sources for these reviewers are known in the marketing industry as "influencers."

Influencers are individuals who can sway the sentiments of their online audience in a particular direction regarding a brand, idea, business, person, or any other entity. These people can make or break your reputation.

And since, whether you like it or not, there is already a conversation happening about your brand on social media, it would be best to get out ahead of it and start an influencer marketing campaign to build the trust and recognition among a large audience thanks to a popular voice on social.

To learn more about how Influencers can boost your business, check out my post on MELT.

Also if you're interested in getting started with an influencer marketing campaign, tune in to my online MELT workshop, How to Run a Social Influencer Program, on April 20 for everything you need to know!

By now you don't need me to tell you that first impressions are everything. And never has there been a truer statement than when it comes to LinkedIn profiles. You might have the most impressive resume but before they read the first word of your profile, prospective employers and clients visiting your page are going to see your picture.

And since a bad first impression could cost you a job or a valuable contact/networking opportunity, your profile picture is arguably one of the most important elements of your profile.

To make sure you're putting your best foot (or shall I say, face) out there, your picture should convey your competence, likability, and influence.

In a recent study by PhotoFeeler profile photos and their impressions were studied to determine what elements created the ideal profile photo for social media sites and blog profiles. The study was based on over 60,000 ratings of perceived competence, likability, and influence.

Although I'm sure Twitter had dreams of better and more intelligent uses for the social media platform rather than celebrity feuding, even its biggest supporters can't deny that watching something this insane and delightful unfold in real time can't happen anywhere else and being a fly on the wall while it all hits the fan is priceless.

So if you've been paying attention to any pop culture over the last few days than you may have noticed the insane amount of drama on social media. Two of the stories worth noting, which have been making the most headlines, is the Twitter feud between Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa and the mind-boggling rant from rapper B.o.B on how he believes the claim that the earth is round is a conspiracy theory.

First some background...

Kanye West vs. Wiz Khalifa
It all started when Kanye West changed the title of his album from SWISH to WAVES this week. The switch inspired some tweeted shade from fellow rapper Wiz Khalifa. The criticism was enough to set West off, and he spent a half hour batting back at Wiz over the quality and authenticity of his music, his clothing choices, the mother of his child (who is also West's ex-girlfriend), and Wiz's cell phone number. The highlights of Kayne's rant include that Kayne a) used the hashtag #wizwearscoolpants, b) promoted his wife's custom emoji line, c) claimed to own Khalifa's child, and d) repeatedly proclaimed himself the greatest artist of all time (of course). After the one-sided rant was over Wiz Khalifa got involved and so did Wiz's baby momma and Kayne's ex, Amber Rose.

In the end, Kanye deleted the majority of his tweets regarding Khalifa saying, "I'ma take these down 'cause it's all about positive energy... Blessings, blessings, positive energy, blessings."

And perhaps Jimmy Kimmel recapped it best on his show last night.

B.o.B vs. A Round Planet Earth
I can't even make this stuff up. So B.o.B, whom you might know from his hits "Airplanes," "Nothin' On You" and "Strange Clouds," gave Monday and interesting twist when he started tweeting about how he believes the Earth is flat. Yes, flat. He also tweeted that he believes NASA is hiding the truth about the edge of the world. He even shared several meaningless diagrams about the planet including one about flight routes that didn't make a lot of sense. It wasn't long before renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson got involved with some of the most intellectual Twitter beef I've ever experienced. It ended with both B.o.B. and Neil deGrasse Tyson rap battling about their ideas of the truth.

Tyson got the last word with: "Your size isn't large enough to notice any curvature at all. If you want to think the world is flat, go right ahead. But if you think the world is flat and you have influence over others, as would successful rappers, or even presidential candidates, then being wrong becomes being harmful."

Marketing Gold

As humans we are undeniable curious and I'm pretty sure its scientific fact that we are physically and mentally unable to mind our own business and carry on with our day when in the presence of car crash. And it is because of these innate behaviors that we become consumed by pop culture media—especially feuds and drama! We just can't look away!

Now in both of these situations, the celebs are totally taking advantage of our curiosity and obsession with drama.

If you look at the entire Kanye/Wiz confrontation you'll see that the whole start of this was over the name of Kanye's new album. Two days ago I didn't know Kanye had a new album but NOW I do, as does millions of other people around the world. In fact, Khalifa also has a new album, Khalifa, dropping on February 5 and Kanye's WAVES is being released less than a week later on February 11. One might say that this feud is just a beautifully plotted marketing ploy.

It's not yet known is there is a hidden agenda behind B.o.B's soul crushing views on generations of scientific discovery but he did successfully survive disappearing into oblivion and becoming irrelevant for another day. One can argue that it is best to be talked about, even negatively, than to be forgotten about entirely.

Whether these feuds are real or staged is still up for debate, however one thing is for sure: it's all marketing gold.

Last week Twitter announced that you would soon be able to poll your followers and other users on the platform with a multiple choice question.

Coming soon! We're rolling out the ability for everyone to create polls on Twitter: https://t.co/pH5a8q9Ujz pic.twitter.com/ijAKEMUdf1

— Twitter (@twitter) October 21, 2015

If you want the public’s opinion on something — what to name your dog, who will win tonight’s game, which election issue people care about most — there’s no better place to look than on Twitter.

For poll creators, this is a great new way to engage with Twitter’s massive audience and understand exactly what people think. And for those participating, it’s a very easy way to make your voice heard.

Here's how it works: 

1. Select the icon you would normally click to compose a tweet (this functionality will be available on OSX, Android, and desktop when it is fully rolled out).
   
2. From there you can click the poll icon which will allow you to create your own two-choice poll right from the compose box.
   
   
   
3. Type your question into the Compose New Tweet box and add your carefully selected two choices into the lines below.
   
4. When you're finished, click Tweet!

Once you click Tweet, your poll will remain live for 24 hours. Anyone can vote on any poll and how you voted is not shared publicly. They can also choose to share, favorite, and comment on the poll using the @Reply function.

So here's my question to you...

How do you feel about the new Twitter Polls? For more info: https://t.co/5MxRBemh7Y #socialmedia #TwitterPolls

— Katelyn Davis (@katelynshelby) November 5, 2015

My Thoughts

• Much needed addition. Although in the past Twitter has offered a few ways to participate in and conduct polls by tweeting questions and tracking replies, tallying hashtag votes, or asking followers to favorite or retweet to vote it was difficult and time consuming.
• Poll choices are kept short. I know Twitter is the king of short-hand but the character limit for the poll responses are so short it's annoying.
• Not enough choices. Two choices?! I'm not saying that there needs to be an unlimted amount of selections but there definitely needs to be more than two. The way it stands there isn't even room for a Yes, No, Maybe option!

Instagram—one of the fastest-growing mobile social networks—recently announced its integration with Hootsuite—a social media management tool—to help you manage, schedule, and monitor your Instagram activity in a whole new way.

In case you missed it, June 30 is Social Media Day which was started by Mashable in 2010 and continues to be celebrated around the world.

In Michigan we're celebrating Social Media Day hard with our own hashtag #SMDayMI with a campaign lead by Pure Michigan, the state's travel and tourism guru, and supported by Governor Rick Snyder.

My favorite MI Twitter account to follow is @stephenclark. In the public eye and he actually responds. Class act! #backchannel #SMDayMI

— Brett C (@brettcummins) June 30, 2015

#SMDayMi @awesomemitten rocks! Their IG account shows MI, as gorgeous and diverse as it is :) @PureMichigan https://t.co/jmjSdLyaEx

— kristin shaw (@k5haw) June 30, 2015

From the sand dunes of Lake Michigan to the trails of Tahquamenon-Falls it's a new view everyday on @PureMichigan! #SMDayMI #PureMichigan

— Eric Szczepanski (@EricSki) June 30, 2015

#SMDAYMI Follow our Michigan travel site on Facebook (travelthemitten), instagram (@travelthemitten) and twitter @travelthemitten

— Jonathan Katje (@JKatje) June 30, 2015

@PureMichigan my fav account is @awesomemitten for the great content that covers the state! #SMDAYMI

— Rachel Piselli (@RachRoseBerry) June 30, 2015

@MichiganDNR is one of my favorite accounts to follow. Gotta love all of the Mitten's natural resources 🌊💙🌅 #SMDayMi pic.twitter.com/r7bnFtDgyz

— Mary-MaRae Baker (@Mary_MaRae) June 30, 2015

Two more of my favorite @twitter accts to follow: @SMAMiorg and @SocialINDetroit #SMDayMI

— Amber Beard (@thebestamber) June 30, 2015

Follow more of the #SMDayMI party on Twitter all day long for lots of great goodies!

Happy Social Media Day! 

Mashable launched Social Media Day in 2010 as a way to recognize and celebrate social media's impact on global communication. While every day is essentially Social Media Day, June 30, 2015 marks the sixth-annual official global celebration.

In past years, meet-ups happened all over the world. celebrating Social Media Day, including those in Egypt, Spain, and San Diego. In fact, every year we have celebrated in Detroit with a rocking event. This year was no different!

Hosted by Social Media Association of Michigan (SMAMi) at MotorCity Casino & Hotel's SoundBoard, Social Media Day Detroit was held on Friday, June 26. The event kicked off with a great panel discussion about Detroit and technology and social media.



The panel was originally supposed to be focused on new ways to use technology to solve some of Detroit's problems, but it evolved into a deeper discussion about what those specific problems are and how they impact people’s lives. The esteemed panel included:

• David Anderson, CoFounder at Bamboo Detroit
• Piper Carter, CoFounder at Detroit Digital Justice Coalition
• Jake Cohen, Managing Partner at Detroit Venture Partners
• Michael Evans, Senior Developer at Loveland Technologies
• Edi Demaj, CoFounder at Rocket Fiber
• Jill Ford, Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the City of Detroit
• Niles Heron, CoFounder at Michigan Funders
• Alicia Jones, CEO at Harmony Point ITC

Wish you could have attended last week's Social Media Day Detroit panel discussion? You're in luck! Our friends over at IT in the D recorded the discussion. Click on the button below to start streaming the panel discussion.


After the panel discussion we had a great time celebrating and networking with each other.

Let's get this party started! #SMDayDet pic.twitter.com/aCIxF4lXoS

— MotorCity Casino (@MotorCityCasino) June 26, 2015

@SMAMiorg Hashtag Mitten, get it? #SMDayDet #SocialMitten #✋ pic.twitter.com/dXHBZ8wwDa

— Jenna B (@brown169) June 27, 2015

Great talking to the ladies at @yelpdetroit ! #smdaydet pic.twitter.com/pTyyjfRZLS

— Jenna B (@brown169) June 26, 2015

Enjoying #SMDayDet with @SMitchellMarket #SMDay #Detroit pic.twitter.com/FzsHPWuSsR

— Sara Nickleberry (@socialwithsara) June 26, 2015

Now broadcasting at Soundboard #Smdaydet pic.twitter.com/FK31jSN4xe

— IT in the D (@ITintheD) June 26, 2015

EPIC TWEETS #SMDayDet #SMDay #SMCD pic.twitter.com/np23emDNfk

— Joel Heckaman (@JHeckaman) June 27, 2015

As an added bonus, Governor, Rick Synder, has officially proclaimed June 30 as Social Media Day as a day of recognition in the State of Michigan.

The proclamation states we will celebrate June 30 as Social Media Day...

• WHEREAS, social media platforms have created a vibrant community for citizens to communicate with each other, universities, organizations and municipalities throughout the world; and,
• WHEREAS, state of Michigan leadership, departments, and programs have established a standard of excellence in social media communications, providing unprecedented customer service and transparency to constituents; and,
• WHEREAS, usage of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to provide interactive and effective means of messaging has evolved into real time event coverage, ideation, user generated content and a more participatory government; and,
• WHEREAS, Social Media Day, a globally recognized event, allows individuals to gather physically and virtually to celebrate the advancements of technology, information and interaction; and,
• WHEREAS, on this day, we recognize Michigan's social media users and we raise awareness of the important service these channels provide in government, business and education;
• NOW, THEREFORE, I, Rick Snyder, governor of Michigan, do hereby proclaim June 30, 2015 as Michigan Social Media Day.

Happy Social Media Day!
aka June 30th

By now you may or may not have heard about Mashable's sanctioned Social Media Day "holiday," which has been celebrated annual for six years running.

Mashable launched Social Media Day in 2010 as a way to recognize and celebrate social media's impact on global communication.

Attend a Social Media Day Meetup
There are hundreds of Social Media Day events happening around the world including those in Egypt, Spain, Las Vegas and San Diego so changes are there is a meetup taking place close to you. Use Mashable's tools to find local events. These are great places to meet and network with like-minded people and ultimately nerd-out over social media.

Thow a Social Media Day Party
If there isn't an event in your area, plan one! It might be too late now but you could always start planning for next year's event! Use the Mashable Meetup Organizers group for guidance.

But if you're like us in Detroit, we celebrated Social Media Day early so there isn't any organized event taking place on June 30. Here are some other options:

The Hashtag
Use the hashtag #SMday on Twitter to follow along with everything that is happening before and on June 30, Social Media Day. You can also follow @MashableEvents for a sneak speak of what's happening.


Collaborate
Join Mashable's Meetup Coordinators group on Facebook to learn more about all of the meetups that are taking place as well as initiatives for this year. You can network here too! If you are the one planning an event, this is also a great place for ideas.


Toolkit
Mashable has been nice enough to provide a toolkit for marketers or anyone working on anything Social Media Day related. This free, digital toolkit if full of logos and other goodies you may need.


Have any other great ideas for how to spend this year's Social Media Day? Leave them in the comments below.

June 26, 2015 marks the date of the 6th annual Social Media Day celebration taking place in Detroit—bringing together influencers and innovators to talk about social media, Detroit, and technology’s ultimate role in a re-surging city’s success—hosted by the Social Media Association of Michigan (SMAMi).

Mashable, the leading source for news, information, and resources for the Connected Generation, launched Social Media Day as an annual event in 2010 as a way to recognize the digital revolution happening right before our eyes. Each year, thousands of people organize hundreds of meetups across the globe. From Australia to the Philippines, all the way to Sri Lanka and Morocco, countries come together every June to participate in this global movement.

Detroit’s event will begin with a roundtable discussion on "Technology’s Role in a Resurging City.” Special guests will be notable tech entrepreneurs, agency executives, and public sector leaders who will all speak to the important role social media and technology has on Detroit’s success and public perception, locally and around the world.

“The goal is to bring together people from all walks of life for an opportunity to connect their online networks offline, in a face-to-face setting, bringing communities closer together.” said Sola Obayan, SMAMi President.

Following the roundtable is the public event, themed “Modern Motown,” honoring Detroit-bred innovations interwoven with traditions to make up our remarkable city. As a DJ spins classic Motown music blended with modern techno beats attendees will be able to enjoy interactive technology-focused experiences.

This year’s Detroit Social Media Day will take place at the MotorCity Casino and Hotel SoundBoard, which has previously hosted several of the past Social Media Day events.

“We are very excited to have this event hosted by MotorCity Casino and Hotel,” said Obayan. “This is a world-class venue, perfect for the world-class discussions coming out of Detroit.”

For more information, to review the full agenda, and to reserve your tickets, visit www.smami.org or click here to view the Detroit Social Media Day EventBrite page. Interested in sponsoring, visit the sponsorship page for more information.

About the Social Media Association of Michigan
The Social Media Association of Michigan was founded in 2012 with the mission "to promote social media as an impactful communication vehicle through state-wide education, adoption of social platforms and dissemination of successful social media solutions in public and private sectors." SMAMi Members are Michigan-based organizations, professionals, and students with a strong interest in leveraging social media successfully. For more information and to join our mailing list for event related announcements, please visit www.smami.org.

This weekend I launched my new website for my freelance business, www.KatelynDavis.com, and I couldn't be more excited.

Whether it was coincidence or not, I received a message through the new site within hours about a new freelance gig so I'd say things are working out just great!


The new site includes information about my social media strategy and web content development services as well as the most notable pieces of my portfolio and blog.

How long should my tweet be? Or my blog post? Or my headline? What about my podcast? Or video?

This is probably one of the most common questions among content producers who are just trying to find that sweet spot among their audiences.

Along with all the best tips on optimal lengths for tweets, blogposts, and headlines, Buffer added a few additional lengths to the list including SlideShare length, Pinterest length, and more.

This guide should be very helpful in helping you to decide on what is too long or what might not be long enough the next time you're producing online content!

What's Changing in Social Media Marketing in 2015 by Social Media Today

There are so many lists out there for "Best of," "Worst of," and the list goes on, for 2014. So here is my ultimate lists of all lists.

5 Marketing Trends That Didn't Go Well in 2014 by Entrepreneur
2014 was an innovative year for marketing, but let’s face it: a lot of trends didn’t pan out. In the interest of cleaning our slate for 2015, it’s time we review these failed strategies and tools that will soon be irrelevant.
5 Things We Learned about Facebook in 2014 by Digiday
Media and tech pundits have for years prophesied that Facebook was “the future of media,” a tool that would one day become the backbone of the interner. Facebook came closer than ever before to that vision in 2014, as the social network proved that even the simplest of changes to its news feed algorithm could send advertisers, agencies and publishers scrambling for or basking in referral traffic lost or gained.

Just a few days ago, Facebook unleashed its newest app to users, Rooms.
The goal, according to the app's blog, is to transfer the utility of message boards to the mobile world.

The app embraces anonymity, allowing users to sign in with "whatever name makes you feel most comfortable and proud." Users can create different names for each room they join.

Rooms can be shared through invitations that look like QR codes. You take a picture of the invitation, and the app scans your recent photos for the QR code and signs you into the room.