I am no stranger to social media but aspects of it have evaded me sometimes. I have all the fundamental accounts in Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Klout, Hootsuite...and I have had those accounts for a while. Longer than most even. Currently, I am taking some social media classes online via Northwestern University and Coursera.com (#NUsocialmktg). I have learned a lot. I have also recently gotten certified in Inbound Marketing via Hubspot. Paradigms are shifting. The customer now holds all the power and uses the Internet to form over 60 percent of their buying decision before he or she ever talks to a company. Content has never been so important. Companies are struggling to deal with old school sales and marketing organizations and lack of content. This is going to be a huge boom to marketing writers. Did you know that the largest growing group on Twitter is grandparents? Who would have imagined that?
Among the things I have learned was how Twitter works. I had an account but never understood why anyone would read my tweets or how it empowers you. Now, I understand how the hashtags and @ signs actually work. You can literally target audiences of any type if you find the proper hashtag or address. Have a local business? Use Twitter to reach town centered groups at #<yourtown>. As I have worked on my online personal brand, it amazes me that people follow me. I feel like I am blazing trails.
My recent wins with Twitter were getting a ping back from Lucinda Williams and early notification of her show before it was sold out. I also congratulated my late high school boyfriend's son for an article he published. I never met this young man and lost touch with his dad years ago. It was nice to make the connection.
Learning is good. I am loving the online courses I have found using Coursera, Udemy, Lydna.com. What have you learned lately?