Social Networking Mistakes You Don't Want To Make

I'm not a social animal when it comes to maintaining my Facebook pages and Twitter account.

I admire people, who can always engage their followers with witty, imaginative posts several times a day.

Admittedly, this is still a big learning curve for me, but I do know what best to avoid when networking online.

Here are some of my pet hates I have come across that make me unfollow Facebook pages and Twitter accounts:

1. Lots of photos or status updates are posted in  a short period of time cluttering up my news feed on both Twitter and Facebook. I'm not talking up to 10 a day (already quite a lot) but something like 30 - 50 in a row...

Stop that spam! It's really annoying. There is too much noise and information out there already. Quality counts, not quantity. Just remember it's so easy to unfollow or block your updates.

2. Imagine getting this message: "I have just liked your page. Can you follow this link and like my page, too?"

Honestly...let me put this straight: I only want you to like my page, if you genuinely like it and want to engage with me. Expecting a favour in return only irritates me, but I do often reciprocate as long as you don't ask. And when I do, you will know that I genuinely like your page and want to interact with it.

Tip: If you want to promote your business with a Facebook business or personal page, increase your exposure by not only liking other pages but also engaging with them. A win-win for all.

3. Auto-scheduling self-promoting posts in public Facebook groups. 

Yes, okay, I did mention the benefits of auto-scheduling tweets and Facebook updates in one of my earlier posts, but you are walking a thin red line, when you are auto-posting to public groups.

What you do with the accounts and pages you own is entirely up to you, but please treat public groups with respect and show up in person when you post there. Otherwise it gives the impression you just can't be bothered.

And I know it's an auto-scheduled post, because it says via Hootsuite at the bottom, and it's always posted at the same time every day ;)

Furthermore, auto-posting the same stuff again and again is simply spam. I had to turn off notification of some Tarot groups on Facebook, because certain members keep posting links to their website, products and services every day.

Please don't ram your stuff into my face. It's irritating, and I just block you off my radar. And I guess I'm not the only one ;)

4. Addicted to auto-pilot

You still need to show up on your pages and respond to your followers. Don't lose the personal touch. Respond to messages and feedback in person rather than setting up auto-replies, so people feel valued and keep coming back. Automating social media tasks is helpful, but don't turn into a robot. You still need to engage with your followers.

5. Twit Validation "TrueTwit"

One of the most irritating things on Twitter. If you use this service, rest assured that you are missing out on loads of followers, because they can't be bothered having to prove they're not robots.

The moment I receive a direct message asking me to follow a link to confirm I'm human, I unfollow straight away. Not worth my time.

So, if you use TrueTwit, consider ditching it. There is no need to check, if your followers are spammers; likelihood is that not many are anyway.

6. Don't Rely on Social Networks

This is one of the worst mistakes you can make; relying too much on social media platforms to promote your business.

When you invest a lot of time creating pages on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and so on, remember that you don't own your pages there, and therefore have no control over them. You could be shut down any moment, or your pages become less visible unless you start paying for ad fees.

Keep time you spend building your social media pages to a minimum, and instead focus on creating valuable content for your website. This is where you are in control, and eventually working on what you own will pay off.

What turns you off on social media? I'd love to hear from you.

Warmest wishes,

Christiane


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The Tarot Guide To Making Twitter Work For You

I'm no expert when it comes to social marketing, but I have learnt some valuable lessons over the last two years about what works and what not to do.

Twitter is one of those social marketing tools, I've recently rediscovered. I'm glad I did, because it has significantly increased the number of visitors to my websites and most importantly increased my earnings.

If you are serious about building a successful online business, then you cannot ignore Twitter as one of your major marketing tools to achieve your goal.

The Tarot is offering some valuable advice on how to make Twitter work for you:

1. Three of Pentacles (Earth)

Like with all other social networking sites, it is important to connect with the right people and interact with them.

If you only tweet about your latest offers and try to flog your stuff to your followers, you will be creating a lot of noise without anybody hearing.

Twitter is about teamwork and collaboration. Reach out to the people you follow by responding to their tweets; reply with a positive comment or retweet (RT). The idea is that they will follow you back, return the favour and this way you will gain exposure to their followers. 

Be patient. You won't gain thousands of followers overnight unless you are a celebrity. You need to be persistent and keep putting in some work every day. If you only tweet once a week or less, then Twitter will never work for you, and you might as well just leave it altogether.  

Don't be tempted to buy 10,000 followers for a Fiver! Yes, these offers can be found on the net, but believe me, it really is too good to be true. You just end up with low quality (often fake) followers.

2. Page of Swords (Air)

If you are new to Twitter, you might be wondering what to tweet. From a technical point of view, your tweet cannot exceed more than 160 characters.

When it comes to content, quality followers always value interesting, informative and humorous tweets. These are the ones that are most likely to be retweeted and ultimately gain you more followers. 

If you have a blog with valuable content, you can tweet links to individual blog posts. Example:

How to create your own Tarot deck: http://ow.ly/mFurM #tarot #spirituality #photography #art

Notice the hashtags; these appeal to people with an interest in those topics and are using the Twitter search facility to find related information.

Also notice the shortened link to my website, which is invaluable when you have to fit your message into 160 characters or less. Use hootsuite.com to shorten link addresses and schedule your tweets to save oodles of time (see my no. 1 Twitter efficiency tip below).

Even if you don't yet have a lot of content on your blog, you can always provide your followers with interesting retweets. But be careful: always check out the links first before you RT them to avoid sharing any content that is unsuitable or contains too much advertising or pushy sales hype. 

Twitter isn't an exact science, it's trial and error, so keep learning and refining your tweets and interaction.

3. Five of Wands (Fire)

Don't get involved in any negativity. Heated discussions, extreme opinions, nasty gossip and retweeting of unsavoury, possibly libellous messages won't help your business. 

If you disagree with someone, there is no point in responding with a dismissive comment. If I receive a negative reply to my tweets, I will unfollow and block the person without hesitation, so the same could happen to you. Not nice, so think before you stab!

And if you don't like what they tweet, you can always unfollow them without any fuss.

Keep it professional at all times. Remember, you're on Twitter to promote your business, not causing tension, getting into fights or legal disputes.

Avoid the idea of competition. I follow many fellow Tarot readers, who I admire and enjoy reading their work. I don't hesitate retweeting their valuable messages for the benefit of my followers.

4. Six of Cups (Water)

Be friendly and helpful. 

Spread happy vibes, joy and fun. 

Cheer people up. Encourage them. 

Respond to them, when they contact you or even retweet your messages. Nothing is worse than ignoring people, who support you.

Most of all, enjoy it!

It's easy to make conversation with people on Twitter. I have made some great Twitter friends and in the process learned a lot from the people I follow and won new clients, too.

When you do Twitter right and you stick with it, it's a win-win.

Finally, here is my number one Twitter efficiency tip: auto-schedule your tweets with a social media management tool such as hootsuite.com or socialoomph.com. You can plan, save, set and publish your tweets automatically, spreading them throughout the day and night (for international followers), while you do other things or are asleep.

It is important to keep your Twitter account ticking over with regular daily tweets (a minimum of 10 a day at different times) to reach as many of your followers as possible. All you need to do is spend five minutes to schedule your tweets for the day, and that's all. It doesn't take as much effort as you think.

As you may have noticed the four elements represented by the cards shown are carefully balanced, which contributes to a successful Twitter campaign.

Yes! Applying a little bit of Tarot and Woo Magick can make your working life so much easier and open doors to new opportunities.

Over to you:

Wanting to boost your Twitter marketing and networking?

Find out, which element you need to pay attention to at this moment in time to create a more balanced campaign.

Shuffle your deck and pull a card. Which element does it correspond with?
(Wands - Fire, Cups - Water, Swords - Air, Pentacles - Earth).

What advice does the card offer? What do you need to focus on?

Fire: vision, enthusiasm, leadership
Water: building relationships, social interactions
Air: communicating your business message clearly and effectively
Earth: perseverance, patience

Ready to make Twitter work for you? Then don't forget to follow me and send me a tweet. I'd love to follow you back! 

And please do share your Twitter tips here by posting a comment below.

Warmest wishes,

Christiane


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