How to be Social on Social Media

The first thing you should do after setting up your blog is to set up your social media accounts. You might already have some accounts set up; now you need to make sure you are using them the best possible way.

Social media is an amazing tool for anyone online, and especially for transcribers. One of the top reasons transcribers spend time online is to be social. They are looking to make friends, find information, share what they know, sympathize with others, and maybe even make some money.

Social media sites are set-up so transcribers, or anyone, can pop in and out and easily share. They are always busy with a ton of traffic and you need to direct some of that traffic to your transcription blog. However, you need to make them want to come interact with you because your sign is so compelling; not be forced to drive past because someone has a whistle and white gloves.

If you want to make friends on social media sites here are 5 things you should avoid:

• Boring conversation about the details of your life
• Links in every update
• Constant bragging
• Only retweets
• Constant quotes

None of those things are terribly wrong. In fact, each of those things will appeal to someone, but not if that’s all that they hear from you. It’s the mixture that’s important.

If you think, “I’m blogging to make money, not friends” you won’t get anywhere online. Readers visit people they like and shoppers buy from people they know. The key to using social media sites the right way is honest interaction. Here are five tips that might help:

• Be yourself. Don’t set up a persona.
• Use your best level of conversation. Don’t talk like you are at a sleepover with your friends; talk like you are at a networking conference.
• Search for a topic that you like and talk to people about that topic.
• For every tweet you post about yourself reply to someone else.
• Strive to build people up and never tear people down publicly.

Don’t be intimidated by the unwritten rules of social media. Instead watch, read, and learn how to go about things the best way so that you are accepted easily and hopefully, spread around. You want people to associate good things with your name and brand.

Building relationships, gaining trust, becoming friends, honest interaction - those take time; but remember that anything worth doing is worth doing well.

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