Many of us look to make personal new year’s resolutions at the beginning of each new year, but what about resolutions for your social media? You may not have thought about it but, there’s no better time than the start of a new year to take stock of your social media accounts!
In addition to being the writer behind travel blog, Turnipseed Travel, my friend Vanessa is the owner, and social media expert, who runs Sculpt Social. Vanessa has kindly offered to share with Canadian Blog House readers some great tips on how to make your social media networks more secure and productive for you, whether you use them for personal reasons, or for business.
If you are active on social media in any way, here’s some great advice for you!
‘Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions! And whether you use social media for your personal or professional life – or a combination of both – you should look at adding some social media resolutions to your list. Starting off the New Year with happier, healthier networks means more pleasure and productivity for you throughout the year. So if your Twitter account has been feeling a bit neglected lately, here are three resolutions you can immediately put into action to make your account more secure, streamlined, and social.
Update your password.
I’m guessing that your Twitter password has one of two origins. It’s either the same password you use for things you consider important in your life, things like your email or your work log-in. Or it’s the same password you use for things you consider fun in your life, things like other social media networks and apps. Either way, it’s child play for a hacker.
The New Year is the perfect time to generate a secure password. Sites like Password Generator will help you create a secure, random password. You can input your preferences for different password styles so if distinguishing between the letter “I” and the number “1” is the bane of your existence, take heart. The resulting password will be easy for you to remember but near impossible for pranksters to guess.
If you have to share your Twitter account with someone else, such as an assistant, you don’t have to share your newly secured password directly with them. Programs like Last Pass act as a proxy, giving your chosen contacts access to your social media networks without ever knowing the password.
Clean House.
The most important thing about social media is to be social, but it’s hard to socialize and form relationships with those who are never online. It’s time to harden your heart and purge from the people you follow.
If someone is only tweeting a few times a month, following them does nothing to advance your career or enhance your personal life. In fact, following them can actually be harmful. The collective presence of all those scant users is enough to clog your Twitter feed and distract you from building the relationships that matter.
An app called UnTweep is an amazing tool that I use at least once a month. It identifies people who haven’t tweeted for at least 15 days (or longer, if you prefer). It then lists all the tardy tweeters for you to selectively unfollow. I love that it puts the unfollowing in your hands and it’s ultimately up to you to take action. That way, you don’t lose someone want to stay connected with.
Freshen Up Your Bio.
Do you have overused words like “maven”, “ninja”, or “aficionado” in your Twitter bio? How about phrases with no legal standing like “Retweets are not endorsements”? Does every second word have a hashtag in front of it? It’s time for a rewrite!
Your Twitter bio is about putting your best foot forward. It should say who you are but, more importantly, it should say what people can expect when they follow you. An accurate and compelling Twitter bio attracts and retains followers that are a good fit for you and your content. If you never tweet about your children or your job, they shouldn’t be mentioned in your bio. If you use risqué images or profanity in your tweets, your bio should let people know that you keep your feed edgy. Ultimately, you want your bio to help people who share your interests and ideals find you.
This New Year, make your networks as good as new!
When social media is an important part of your life and work, it can feel like there’s a never-ending list of should-dos to make your online presence have more of an impact. Sometimes all it takes to turn things around is a couple of concrete resolutions you can act on right away. And, unlike most resolutions, you’ll be enjoying positive results all year long!
Vanessa Chiasson crafts content and strategies that inspire people to connect to their clients, to the web, and each other. She believes that social media and online content is an integral part of every successful small business and can walk anyone through the process, making it fun and empowering. See more of her social media tips at SculptSocial.com
