Missed The Social Good Summit 2017? Catch Up On The Event Here!
Yesterday, 28th September, 2017, I was privileged to attend the Social Good Summit summit. Since it had been a while I attended an event as this, it was a great pleasure for me to be there. The Social Good Summit is an initiative of the United Nations (UN) aimed at using social media to attain the sustainable development goals. And my friend, Abraham Ologundudu (@iamoabraham on twitter) convened the event!
Present at the summit were Victoria Ibiwoye, a recent Law graduate and founder of the One African Child Foundation, and Dayo Samuel, a podcast guru whose podcasts have been downloaded over 20,000 times across the globe. Each of them shared relatable experiences and practical ways through which the new media has helped them both in their individual careers.
I enjoyed being at the summit because I got to see that the social media is more important than I possibly ever thought in ways deeper than ever. For more details on what was said at the event, follow @bramodigi on twitter and read through their timeline. Check out pictures from the event below:
L-R Victoria Ibiwoye, Abraham Ologundudu and Dayo Samuel
The team on ground for the summit
I already met Dayo on twitter a couple of years back. Meeting him in real life was a dream come true for me.
Meet Abraham Ologundudu, the convener of the Social Good Summit 2017
L-R Leke Ademo, Me, Oyindamola Laurina and Abraham Ologundudu
In less than four hours, I had made a few acquaintances.
Yours truly. ???
4 Simple Ways To Engage With Friends On Your Personal Facebook List
Much recently, I began to get more interested in studying and tracking my Facebook posts on my personal account. Sometimes I have posts that get many reactions and other times, I get less reactions than expected. This may not be a widely-given rule. However, if you’re looking at creating content and selling your brand on your Facebook account, this would be helpful. So here’s it- how to engage better with your personal posts on Facebook.
1. Use well-edited pictures
People relate a lot more with well-edited and carefully-taken pictures. Imagine that feeling you have when you see a blurred image? Yes, other people have it too. You don’t necessarily need to be a spectacular photographer. It doesn’t always matter if you’re very beautiful or handsome. A picture with a good camera with just the right filter and an exposure to sufficient light would come out just fine. You should remember this when you’re thinking about the next image or picture to upload.
2. Use images in your post
People react to posts that include. images more than posts without that do not. If you ask me, I’ll say images help your posts stand out. It’s easier for one to scroll past a plain post that one which has an inviting picture. These days, I am adding pictures more to my personal posts and I am getting more reactions. I know this because I’ve studied that. However, as much as you can, ensure that whatever picture you’re adding to your post reflects the message. You don’t want to put up a picture that speaks a very different language from what you’re trying to pass across. Else, people will focus more on the picture and forget the message. You get?
3. Tell a story
People react to stories massively. Recently, I figured people love gists. People want to read stories. If it’s a story, people are definitely interested. It could be a funny story, a touching story or whatever kind of story. As long as it’s a story, it definitely sells. If you sell products or services, you must learn to tell stories effectively. I think you have a double advantage if the post is funny. So when next you want to upload that picture, ensure to engage people by telling a story. Don’t just “post and leave”. (Tip: People love being entertained)
4. Reply and react to necessary comments on your posts
Have you visited a blog that had awesome content, were moved to drop a comment only for you to notice that comments from other readers went unreplied? I have seen that times without number and it turns me off instantly. Unreplied comments communicate that you don’t appreciate them. And truth be told, it’s the same with Facebook comments. If someone drops a valuable comment on your post and doesn’t get a reply from you, such person might refrain from dropping a comment on your posts next time. Replying to comments on your post provides a good ground to engage with people who have same interests as you. Don’t forget to react to comments appropriately too. That surely goes a long way.
So, have you studied your Facebook audience personally before? What were your findings? Let’s talk in the comments box. Did this list help you? Do let me know. ☺️
How To And How Not To Use Hashtags (For The Common Social Media User)
With the little time I have spent on the social media, one of the vital things I’ve had to relate to, learn and use are hashtags. Hashtags have basically been a part of my journey on social media and I would attribute my job as a social media manager to that. What I have observed over the years, though, is that hashtags are relatively becoming more popular than they were on social media a few years ago, especially on Facebook which was initially not designed to accommodate hashtags.
I love to use hashtags for whatever project I am embarking on because asides the fact that hashtags are cool, they very much pass your message across without you having to talk much. However, it is highly repulsive when I see someone use an hashtag in the wrong way. So, since I am tired of seeing such on my timelines, I have written this for the common social media user. Of course, they should help you if you’re looking at using hashtags for an upcoming event or for your business but this is basically for everyday use.
Hashtags are words following an Hash (#) character and are directed at passing a message across concerning a situation, an event, a business and whatever have you at first sight. In other words, when I see an hashtag, I should have a basic knowledge of what message you are trying to pass across. So an hashtag is meant to give an idea of what you’re trying to tell us- succinct and interesting.
What To Know Generally About Hashtags:
1. Hashtags are not meant to replace your long sentences (although this can be permitted on Instagram) but on Facebook and Twitter, please stick to short phrases. Don’t go writing something like, “#Ilovemymummysomuchicoulddieforher” or something like that. That is a very wrong way to use hashtags on Twitter or Facebook. Let your hashtags be short, straight-to-the-point and yes, relatable.
In the same way, you do not have to start all the words of your sentences with an hashtag. Writing something like, ” #Courage #is #needed #to #succeed” is totally off. Please be warned.
2. When using an hashtag, know that the word(s) you are meant to use should be directly behind the hash character. Don’t write something like, ” # Success” else you’ll be having an hash and a tag and not an hashtag. Okay?
3. When using hashtags, don’t use any punctuation marks in between (commas, fullstops, colon, hyphen etc). Punctuation marks will break your hashtag. Underscores (_), however, are allowed.
4. If you do not need to use an hashtag, really do not. I get displeased when I see people using hashtags that have no use in the first place. If all you need is a sentence, write your sentence. If all you need to write is an ordinary word, write it. Like I mentioned earlier, hashtags are meant to be phrases which can convey information on first sight, or at least, make people want to find out what the hashtag is about.
5. For business owners and organizations, be creative in your use of hashtags. You want hashtags that people could, over time, attach to your brand so use hashtags that are unique to your brand, specific, catchy and ones that can stick to the heads of your customers. So, as a personal advice, stick to one or two official hashtags for your brand. I could help out with this if you need help. I have a history of creating good hashtags ?
6. Asides Instagram, one or two hashtags are quite enough for every tweet or post of yours. You do not need to design your tweets and posts on Facebook with hashtags. Instagram allows this though.
I hope this helped. If you have any questions, I’ll be glad to answer.
You could connect with me on these platforms:
Twitter: @Orifunke
Facebook: Orifunke Lawal
E-mail: [email protected]
Photo-credit: Google