Over the course of the past few months, I’ve jumped fully on board the Twitter bandwagon. I’ve had my personal Twitter account (arecker1704) for a couple of years and posted there sporadically, but it wasn’t until recently that I started to enjoy the interaction possibilities…. (There was a time when I had no idea what anyone was talking about. For example, RT? #? what does it all mean? I shied away from the conversation). Recently, I’ve made dozens of new friends and connected to people all over the country, and the world in some cases. And now, unfortunately, I am completely obsessed. I can’t even enjoy TV without following the applicable hashtag for my favorite shows (#survivor #idol). Twitter has ruined me.
To make matters worse (or better I suppose), a few months ago a friend (hschoegler) recommended Hoot Suite, which allows me to manage all of my social media accounts from one dashboard: (Twitter accounts arecker1704, fwderbygirls, cancersvcsni, fiveonfivemag; my personal Facebook page, along with fan pages for Fort Wayne Derby Girls, Bust A Move hosted by the Fort Wayne Derby Girls, Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana, Mean Jean and Anthony Wayne Rotary; and two Linked In accounts, one for myself and one for Cancer Services). Phew! That’s nuts, but Hoot Suite makes it a heck of a lot easier, which only fuels the obsession. And did I mention Hoot Suite has analytics that allow you to track your “click throughs.” Yeah, I know. Totally awesome.
This morning I attended the Social Media Breakfast Fort Wayne (#smbfw). And, just when I thought I knew pretty much all I needed to know about Twitter and Social Media, I was proven wrong. There’s so much out there. It seems impossible to keep up. So now I am checking out What the Hash Tag and Addictomatic, and adding more blogs to Google Reader. I am definitely looking forward to the next event so I can be overwhelmed, I mean learn, more useful information to help me manage my online social media presence. (Huge thanks to @kmullett, @scloho, @hschoegler, @leepings, and @randyclarktko for serving on the panel at today’s event).
I actually started writing this post because when I returned to my office, I discovered Twittarian, which connects Rotarians on Twitter. I wanted to use it as an example of the endless ways in which we can connect via social media. I can now find and talk to Rotarians all over the world. Wow, Twitter is a powerful tool.
Are you using it? If so, how?
A Ginger in the Kitchen 
Amber, it was good to see you and your sweater vest this morning!
There are more tools out there than any one person needs, if they want to include sleep as a regular (every 24 hours) activity.
So, take a moment and look at the big picture.
Not, “what is the best way to use social media and manage all of it?”
I mean the Really BIG Picture.
What are you trying to do overall? What will success look like? It it’s 2000 followers on Twitter, that in itself is too shallow of a goal. If you want to increase the awareness of ___________ or promote an upcoming event for ____________, then you are now looking at the Big Picture.
Once you have a definition of success, then you can play with the tools that might help you get there. Social Media (Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, You Tube, etc, are just tools, and nothing else.
What I’m saying is, you don’t have to do it all. You will drive yourself crazy and burn out. You’ll either end up hating it and quitting, or others will start hating you because of your compulsions!
And these words are coming from a guy who posts 50+ times per week on blogs, and tweets 30+ times a day.
Here’s my simple advice. Don’t worry about the analytics. Use the social media platforms that others (the people you want to reach) are using so they can find you.
My personal experience is to post on blogs, promote with links and interact on Twitter, Facebook and Linked In.
And these days my favorite tool is Tweetdeck on my laptop for posting on those three.
You are the best. Thank you for breaking it down into such manageable chunks for me. I need to get busy and answer those questions so I can keep myself and my organizations on track.
Hey Amber! I saw your blog here, thanks for being transparent.
Keep it up, those of us on the other end of the giant “black hole” that you are tweeting into are listening!
Thanks!
Hey Thanks Joseph (@lawnboygreen).