Making best use of Social Media

~ Alok Singhal

Social Media Scribble 2

I am no pundit to guide anybody on how to interact on Social Media. However, there are some basics that I have learned over time, which have worked in my favor.

You may choose to disagree with them, which is perfectly fine; but I would love to hear your views. I have also explained what I do in each situation, which further clarifies the point:

  1. Do not share excessively: You are not a celebrity; else you would not be reading this post!

I had this lady I was connected to via her Blog, FB, Twitter and also IndiBlogger (blogging platform in India). She posts excessively – good morning updates, posting pictures multiple times in a day, sharing her posts every day, retweeting and sharing others work blindly and excessively – and all this on all relevant platforms. On top of that she started multiple blogs on various themes in due course of time. I was so tired of seeing her updates often in my feed that I had to unfollow her from everywhere…and no regrets for that!

I wouldn’t want to overwhelm my audience. You are on social media for ‘social’ purpose, not just for me! If I don’t care about you, then I don’t deserve you. Think about it!

  1. Make numbers matter – I used to follow a few who have thousands of followers on Twitter. But when they post something, they don’t even get a single ‘favorite’ in the entire day. The reasons could be many – the tweets are automated (and excessive), they don’t interact with others, the followers are not really readers (ever heard of follow for follow), the shares are not really worthy of sharing with others, or the timing is terrible.

I fail to understand what is the point in sharing if nobody is acknowledging it. Do they just want to post blindly? Wouldn’t it be better to post wisely and only what is worthwhile?

Most of my shares are only after I have read somebody’s post and really liked it. That way the quality aspect is guaranteed, and i am glad many of them get read and shared by others too.

  1. No point in pleasing everybody – As much as you would like to visit everybody that comes on your profile, practically, you won’t be able to do it. Even if you are, the fact is some were just looking for a comment or follow back. Rather, do what you can manage in the long term and what you really love to read. I see many just retweeting or sharing multiple posts of a person in succession…seems more of a liability based on give-and-take relationship they have!

Also, one related aspect is you can’t possibly have thousands of friend’s! Check the list of people you follow or are friends with, many won’t even have interacted with you ever. Do you really want to keep them forever?

I never connect with anybody who has poor interaction. Even if I do initially, and there is no interaction from the person for a few months, I am happy to break the virtual bond. I do not want to follow them just because they are following me back!

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182 thoughts on “Making best use of Social Media”

  8. Very logical views! Absolutely agree with the fact that you should not blindly follow and share blogs or articles. At the end of the day, you read a blog or articles/updates of any form only for yourself and it should interest you or connects with you. That is the natural way of making friends and finding things to read and it will go a long way in forging bonds.

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  13. 3 points and I guess I learnt something from each of them. You might have noticed. I don’t have a set pattern or planning. I write when I do, I read when I do, I give my opinion when I feel like. Though I have tried, a pattern hasn’t been possible.
    Tips like these are really helpful for amateur bloggers like me. 🙂

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  14. I believe that unless you are a celebrity whatever you post on social media should not be only about you..and yourself but should be of some value to others as well. Also whatever is your frequency of post, do not expect that everybody to like all posts on all platforms. On a lighter note I am so curious to know who it was. 😀

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  18. It makes sense but somebody told me Numbers are the game at least in my line of blogging.The more presence you have got on SM, the more famous you are. Not that I m doing it myself.Yes extreme sharing is dud especially if it’s repetitive.Btw I thought you were talking about me 😦 Hey Ram
    .

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  22. I get you. But I kind of belong to the the cane who don’t really share and post but goes through the feed incessantly! I don’t have the patience to comment, or update or anything – but I want to know. I am trying to wean off a little but it is a little difficult. Other stuff in life is thankfully taking over where I even forget that I have a phone.. Whew.. Almost a wrong forum to spew this out. But well. Blame your list!

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    1. I get your point…but to the extent we can do, we should do. No point in taking stress over it either.

      I can imagine you being occupied in other stuff right now 😛
      Btw, it is a blessing you forget about the phone sometimes!

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  23. Can’t agree more with all your thoughts. When i read this parts about posting too much my first mind was why? why it is not good to post anything you want. But yep, its true, some people just do it way too many. One girl in fb was posting so much every day, what she ate for breakfast, dinner, the pies she cooked, the shoes she bought… everything. It is funny at the beginning, but in the end of the day you get bored.

    I found these insights more useful for blogging, for being in society of that, but of course everyone is definitely right here – people should read this!

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  24. I agree about not sharing excessively. We genuinely want to keep up with our peers’ posts and if there are way too many it makes it difficult. I also like to have quality over quantity when it comes to friends. Thank you for these very valid points!

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  25. Your post is a good observation Alok and I agree in parts. While sharing on FB is different, Twitter falls in to a different genre altogether. I would be worried if no one reads/likes my posts from FB (I a m talking about blog post shares) but likes are seen in a different light on Twitter. All I mean is each social media need not be treated alike.

    P.S. I hope you haven’t unfollowed me. 😉

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    1. Thank you, Parul.

      I do check and unfollow all who have hardly/not interacted with me (but are otherwise active on social media). I have normally seen group-ism in such people, who want to just be social within that group.

      Like

      Reply

  26. Very well said!!! This is exactly how I blog. I don’t blog extensively. I personally like for each of my post to settle a bit, and not get buried after the next one. But, everyone is different. I always say blog the way you are. To each their own. I think I have a good enough genuine followers, good blog friends 😀 . But I am one of those blog sites with so many followers, but not necessarily a lot of readers. 😀 I’m okay with that too. 🙂

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  28. I enjoyed reading this post. You know what? Those people who share incessantly on twitter or facebook without getting any reactions (new extension for likes these days) must really be believing in Gita ka gyan -‘karam kiye ja, fal ki ichha mat kar.’ They are the karamyogis of SM 😀
    As it stands for me, I am not ubiquitous on SM. I blog once a week, share that blog post once a week unless that post is too close to my heart and is doing well. Previously, I used to post my family’s photos on FB but with more and more people (bloggers), from outside my immediate circle, getting added to friends list I am no longer doing that.

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    1. It can be either that (karam kiye ja, fal ki ichha mat kar) OR they are poor in social interactions, so don’t get the reciprocation from others. Either way, excess of any sort should be avoided…it does more harm than good.

      Thank you for adding a great comment 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  31. Spot on! There appears to be a belief that more followers makes you, to borrow an Americanism, “awesome”. While, of course, I want to be liked and loved by everyone, I don’t think it is possible. I read somewhere that human relations max out at 150. More than 150, and they start becoming thin and superficial.

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    1. Actually, I consider twitter to be the best of all social media platforms!

      Simple – if you like a post, you can favorite and retweet it too. That’s how you engage with others.
      If some in your network are wise enough, they will do the same to you as well.

      Yes, you need to spend some time for all this.

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  36. Pingback: Making best use of Social Media — The Learning Curve – SwagTrixMedia

  37. This was a great read! I have always believed in quality over quantity. I feel like some people take the top of mind concept way to far. I have always thought anywhere from 3 to 5 posts a day is the sweet spot.

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