I interrupt my regularly scheduled programming, to bring you this message in hopes that I can assist in cleaning up our Facebook feeds from unnecessary and often over done posts. Yes, we all choose our Facebook friends and thus are responsible for what we see, but I can’t help but point out a few things that…let’s be honest, deep down we all want to see less of right?
I’ve been often amazed at throughout my jobs how much more importance is put on talking about doing things, versus actually doing them. At one of my previous employer’s, it was incredibly common for many folks to be praised and rewarded not so much for the results they actually delivered, but the way they presented their work. Many a promotions were awarded simply because someone could put together a snazzy powerpoint about how incredible they or their team was.
“I love it when a plan comes together!” – Hannibal Smith, A-Team
I’ve worked on my fair share of social media campaigns, and every once in awhile, a project comes my way that I have an extra ounce of vested interest in making a success. A few months ago I had the honor of taking on doing some social media consulting for one of my favorite local restaurants Emory’s, a fine dining establishment north of Seattle and in my neck of the woods. I’ve been a regular there for some time, and had a good friend that opened up the door for me to work with them.
It’s been a whirlwind month or so and my blog and personal social media use has certainly suffered. Finding time to attend to my personal stuff is always going to be a significant challenge with a full time gig. The anxiety of a shrinking Klout score and Alexa rating always seems to reel me back in. I’m so vain.
Nobody is perfect right? I’m certainly not, and that is also the case as it pertains to my social media usage and strategies. I’d like to think I get a few things right of course, but I’m not without my failures and what better way then to parade them out into the open for all to see right? Some might think I’d be foolish to do so, but part of the reason I think I’ve found the level of success with my blog over the years is by delivering an authentic, transparent voice. I believe that the most amazing folks in the world are those that are very driven, successful, confident, but balance it with a big dose of generosity and humbleness.
Yesterday was the day. Yesterday was the day I broke my long standing one day traffic record on my blog. And I can honestly say, I have no idea why. I continue to dig into the numbers, but I only have a few ideas of what may have caused the spike. At the very least, it’s an interesting look into the steps I take when I typically post to my blog, and I thought it would be a useful post to share.
Back in May of 2009 before I took my blogging seriously, I was laid off of Microsoft. As a method of therapy that night, I wrote a long blog post about what I had experienced, published and went to bed thinking nothing of it. However the next morning, I woke up to find that my post was picked up by Mary Jo Foley, a prominent Microsoft blogger on ZDNet, and my traffic spiked big time. About 1,800 page views for a blog that rarely got 20. That was the moment I decided to take my blog seriously. And ever since, I’ve never been able to crack that many visits in one day. Until yesterday.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people (mainly professional athletes and celebrities), communicate on social media platforms so carelessly. I think it’s great that many of these folks are using these channels to connect with their fans and provide glimpses into their professional lives. However do these folks not realize the power of their words when they reach so many?
There’s been quite a bit of hoopla this week on the story of interviewees being asked for their Facebook login credentials as part of the interview process. I’m sure it’s not a practice that has just taken shape of late, but for whatever reason, this week it surfaced and has caused all kinds of discussion on the matter. Their are interesting opinions on both sides of the issue, but my take is quite simply, look the other way.
About a month ago I decided I wanted to test out ads on my blog to see what kind of return I would get by devoting some right sidebar space for a medium sized ad. I was a bit leery about the idea, but figured it was worth a shot seeing as my blog traffic had reached a point where I thought the return could be worth it. I decided to go with Social Spark (IZEA) since they offered a model that pays on impressions rather then click-throughs. I knew the return probably wouldn’t be as high as a click-through model, but I figured it was a good starting point.
I’m as guilty as anyone for being sucked into the group buying frenzy. Hey, a deal is a deal. Of course I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all those massages and laser hair removals.
Lately however I’ve noticed a growing trend when using one of these deals that actually has me wanting to not purchase or use them anymore. Grouponitude. What is Grouponitude you ask?