Providing ‘Real’ Content

Now is the time of creating social buzz. Most professionals in the fields of social media or writing are busy rephrasing content and writing on trending topics to make their voice get heard. I know that, because I see it happening all the time, on the web and the varied social platforms. I know that, because at few occasions, or often due to a lack of time, I tend to do it too.

One thing that many people tend to do is rephrase content. So the same ideas keep getting recycled over and over again. For example, just do a search on ‘unusual facts about India’, and you will get over 10,000 results. And if you take the time to go through these, you will find that the same ten salient points stare at your face.

Is it that India just has ten unusual things about it? Or is it that writers are just too lazy to research other materials before they write? Or is it that websites find it easier to use the same content, just to push traffic to their website, rather than delivering value?

The reason could be anything. What is however important, is to create content that is new, fresh. What is important is to say new things, rather than repeat the old. Don’t just follow others blindly to get noticed. Create your own path, put across your own experiences or learnings. Your klout score may be slower to grow, your followers may be lesser, but then you will be sure that your quality is attracting quality and not just numbers.

Why write good English

If good writing skills are akin to information, bad skills are often the equivalent of misinformation. Over the many years of my experience with writing for diverse businesses, I have come across a range of badly presented ideas. And it all boils down to badly written content. Many people continue to think that knowing English is good enough and that the written word really does not matter. In this article, I will try to cover how the quality of the written word can make or break a situation.

You want to make a good first impression

This is the age of emails and online conversations. Before many of meet our prospective employers in person, we are often writing to them first. And the first impressions are formed as soon as they see your resume or read you. A badly phrased letter, spelling errors and structural mistakes all indicate that you have not been careful. And your potential employer chooses to move on to the next candidate.

Not just professionally, first impressions are made through writing in the personal world too. In most online dating communities, the written word is what gets around first. And bad language and improper sentence structure can make a great person look extremely stupid.

You want to present your side of the story

Professional scenarios often demand that you present reports, ideas or arguments, in favour of your case. So you may be needed to back up your research with a good report, or your idea for better equipment backed with suitable arguments. In such cases, not just sufficient data but good presentation also comes into play.

Personal situations like writing letters to family or loved ones also may require this of you. If you are well versed with good writing, you can easily argue your case by being sarcastic, humorous, philosophical or straight forward. These forms of expression are of great help and let your reader know what is there on your mind as succinctly as possible.

You need to improve brand image

Another area where written communication comes into play is when you have to write for a publication. These are social media tools and help to either make or break your image in the market. These could be online publications, blogs, article sites, scientific journals or real-world dailies and magazines. While the Internet has made researching for information much easier, many people tend to copy and paste the writing too, resulting in a shoddy job that destroys company reputation instead of building it.

If you are promoting yourself instead, copying other’s content shows you in a bad light and creates a negative brand image. Good writing is important and you need to keep the language understandable, content organized and quality decent.

Writing good English has today become a prerequisite in an online world, where the written word travels quickly. But do not be afraid. If used properly, this has a range of benefits. You can create a good impression all from the comfort of your local office. You can communicate easily, succinctly and make people like you and follow you. Just like good verbal skills are imperative for the real world, written skills are vital both for the virtual and real scenarios. And mastering them is not space science. With a little effort and support you can do so. Most importantly, start with keeping your eyes open and learn to differentiate between what is good and what’s not.

Seven ways to improve your Twitter followers

Twitter is one of the major players among the various social media sites. As someone aptly said, “Facebook is about people you used to know, Twitter is about the ones you would like to know better”. As the community on Twitter is growing and increasing opportunities for participants, it is important to be a successful part of the network. Here are a few suggestions to increase your followers on Twitter.

Fill up your bio

Your bio comprises of your information, personal and otherwise that is available to your community. Leave it blank, and you will seldom attract anyone. Keep it interesting and you will attract the right kind of crowd. So take the first step of filling up your bio and you are all set for better Twitter success.

Advertise your twitter id

While you need not buy space to advertise your id, putting it up on your personal profile on different media can surely help. You can thus add it to your email signature or your forum signature. You can also post it on your FB profile or add a wall post for people to see. Make it a part of your blog signature or profile and you could soon be attracting traffic and followers amidst your community.

Choose followers carefully

It is important to understand the right group of people to follow. To do so, check out the lists of people online and identify those with common interests. Also check their activity, i.e. the number of followers they have and those they follow. While people with high number of followers may have good content, they will seldom follow you back. However they can give you good leads on the kind of tweets people like.

Maintain the regular habit

People like people who are regularly in touch. Maintain the regular habit of getting on to your twitter account everyday to post tweets, check what your community is doing and share your thoughts.

Comment regularly

People seldom like quiet company, and so is also true with Twitter. Try to read the posts of your community members and reply at every good opportunity. This will show you as an active twitter user and will increase the interest of others on your profile. Chances are thus high that they will read you and comment back on your posts too.

ReTweeting

ReTweeting involves reposting of others tweets. If you begin to retweet posts of your friends, soon they too will retweet your posts. This would mean providing access to your content across a wider network and increase your chances of getting noticed, and then followed.

Give the entire process some time.

You cannot become a Twitter diva or Guru overnight. So give the entire process some time. Give it three months to start with, and the first few months would surely be the toughest. Once you are established, provide quality content and soon you will gain the needed popularity.

Twitter is a growing platform, important for writers, social media personnel and for anyone who uses the Internet to broadcast his/her services. I can be reached at JayaMurty on Twitter, if you have any queries or need any information. You can also leave your comments here.

LinkedIn: An important social network

Each social networking platform has its niche market. Twitter, for example, lets you update your community with current happenings in your life, that could be either personal or professional. Facebook, on the other hand, helps you to do a lot of things, especially on the personal level. You can keep in touch with old friends, colleagues and share information on your life, share messages etc. Youtube lets you share videos, while sites like Picasa allow you to create and share virtual albums.

Ranking on the top of the list is however LinkedIn, a professional networking site, that has taken the recruitment industry by storm. Statistics indicate that this site is increasing in popularity and usage. Also results from LinkedIn rank towards the top of search lists. So if you have a profile on LinkedIn, try googling your name, and chances are that it will appear on the first page of searches. Another interesting aspect for those who are planning to use LinkedIn is the fact that it lets you network to many professionals across different fields of work. Your professional information is out there for all to see and reach you. Joining groups helps too, for either getting job offers or for posting jobs, if you so wish.

LinkedIn is an important social network, and if you are not yet a part of it, then the right time to do so is now. Recruiters will be spending more on this platform this year (from 83% activity in 2010 to 89% in 2911), over traditional placement networks, so get to it while you still can.

Pepsi in Social media news

One of the best examples that shows the power of social media is Pepsi. This popular brand is now focusing its efforts on the power of social media, to reach out to its target customers across geographical barriers. Called as 'The Pepsi Refresh project', this move was made in the beginning of 2010. The company has allocated a budget of $20 million for this and had also invited ideas for making the move a successful one.

Over the first year of being in social media, Pepsi has successfully made use of the various social platforms and even managed to poke fun at its arch rival Coke. The markets have responded favorably too, with Pepsi sales growing in this year.

However, the future of the platform, and how successfully Pepsi can use it to reinforce brand values is yet to be seen. Also, along with focusing on social media marketing, the brand must concentrate efforts on building its brand value. The shift towards healthier juices and non-carbonated drinks needs to be made, not just for the company but for consumers also.

Starting to get Social

Fine, we all know the importance of being social. Since the time we were little children, we were taught to behave. We were taught to greet people, talk politely and share. Today, while good social behavior is still important, the platforms have changed. We need to have social etiquette online.

While many of us know this, we often do not know where to start. How does one start building a good online social reputation? Does one start to randomly make friends, praise everyone, join all networks? The question is all the more imperative for today's youngsters, who will soon be tested on their virtual social value more than anything else.