By:stevendepoloWith Mother’s Day coming up, everyone’s busy buying cards and flowers, but it got me thinking about another way to say thanks — and another type of family.
How many hours a week do you spend blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc? Personally, I spend about 6 hours a day, 4-5 days a week. That means I spend anywhere from 24-30 hours weekly with my social media family — which is about 20 hours more than I spend with my real-life family (excepting my DH). I think it’s high time to show our social media fams some love!
Just like a hug from Mom, receiving a pat on the back from a follower or poster has the power to brighten your day. Performing just one of the simple acts below could inspire the recipient to write an inspirational post or brilliant tweet that helps you along the road to success.
The Challenge
So, here’s my challenge to you: take five minutes, today, right now, to do one of the following (seriously, do it now or else you’ll forget – I know I would). You’ll put a smile on someone’s face. Choose to pass it on, and I bet someone will use one of the tips to put a smile on yours.
Simple Ways to Make Your Social Media Family Smile
- Comment on a post. This may be old hat to some of those veteran bloggers out there, but I know I squeal like a little girl every time we get a comment that’s not a Chinese watch ad or links to porn. Even if it’s just to say “good job,” comments are always appreciated!
- Find a new followee. Twitter offers endless ways to discover new people, so find a new followee! Whether it’s a follower of a friend, someone you see mentioned in a retweet (RT) or just a random user bio that catches your eye, click follow and see what they have to say.
- Reply to a tweet. If you’re not involved in a conversation, Twitter can seem lonely. Check out your followee stream and jump in! Let someone know you’re listening by commenting on a tweet. RTs don’t count here — take the time to actually compose a reply.
- Share a link. Whether it’s on your personal blog or through a tweet, share a link to a website or post that you find interesting. The person on the receiving end will thank you when they see the new source of traffic and, who knows, they may even reciprocate!
- Send an e-mail. It seems passe now, but e-mail is becoming like letter-writing: the more personal way to let someone know you care. More than a tweet or comment, it shows that a little extra time was spent on the thought, and it’s definitely appreciated.
- Reply to a commenter. Show your commenters (and new visitors) that you care by replying to their comment, even if it’s only to thank them.
- Offer to be a guest poster. Most bloggers like spicing up the post rotation now and again so, if you have something to say, offer to be a guest poster! This routes traffic to both websites and can even open up new opportunities.
- Send a personal message to a new follower. Can we all agree that those automated thank-you direct messages to new Twitter followers aren’t effective? Taking the time to send a personal reply to a new follower lets them know you appreciate the gesture.
- Give props. Like something you’ve seen? Whether it’s a post, tweet, comment or website, say so!
- Subscribe to a feed. Find a new blog and subscribe to its RSS feed to be notified when new posts are up.
- Share the love IRL. Have like-minded family and friends in real life? Tell them about your favorite sites, posts, blogs or tweets!
In what other ways can you share the love? Let us know in the comments!
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