Chasing The Wrong Things

Social media is awesome. We’re able to stay in contact with old high school friends, make new friends through different groups, and discover new things we’d never know about before.

I’ve been able to contact some amazing people through social media. Social media has made my life better… in some respects.

Photo of a smartphone with social media apps

Photo by Rahul Chakraborty

In others, social media is a dangerous pit you can easily be sucked into.

Chasing The Wrong Things

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… these social media platforms (along with others) have features to help you know how many people have liked, shared, and loved your posts.

Seeing these social media stats are nice. They tell you people are interacting with what you’re putting out. They tell you people like your content.

Even WordPress websites have social media tracking features. You can tell how many people have tweeted or shared your articles. Once again, this is nice. You can see what is happening with your content.

Do You Know What You’re Communicating To Your Customers?

I was recently perusing Facebook. I do this from time to time to kill time and see what’s going on in my area.

I’ve joined multiple local groups on Facebook. On this day, what I saw saddened me.

Photo of apps on a Samsung Galaxy phone

Photo by Christian Wiediger

A local businessman was being criticized for what he had posted on his personal Facebook page. When I looked deeper, I could see why he was being criticized.

This business owner had chosen to share racially insensitive memes on his Facebook page.

You’re Always Communicating

I’m not sure what this business owner was thinking when he shared these memes. Was he even thinking at all?

I don’t know… What I do know is that he was communicating with his customers and potential customers.

How To Communicate With Millennials

Leading millenials

One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about millennials is the way millennials communicate. Scratch that… It’s the lack of communication from millennials.

Or so people say.

Man in a white suit sitting in a nice restaurant

Photo by Austin Distel

Many people believe millennials are poor communicators. They lack the social and emotional skills to interact with other people.

This is far from the truth. Millennials are great communicators. If you know how to communicate with them.

How To Communicate With Millennials

Millennials are an evergrowing part of the workforce. According to one study, millennials will make up 50% of the workforce by 2020. That’s a large number.

It’s a scary number to many. This is because they don’t know how to communicate with millennials. They see millennials as scary, aloof, and uncaring.

Are You Living In An Echo Chamber?

I recently entered into a conversation on Facebook. Another social media influencer had posted his opinion on the abortion debate that started with Alabama.

The conversation was staying civil. He and his wife were on one side of the fence. I was on the other side.

Starry night background image

Photo by Caleb Steele

For me, that’s okay. I can take disagreement. I can listen to someone who opposes my views and consider their argument. Then something happened.

I logged into Facebook. I checked my notifications. And there were no new notifications from this conversation.

Then I did something I shouldn’t have done. I searched for the Facebook friend. When I couldn’t find his page, I found the URL for his Facebook page and tried to access it. I received the following message:

Message on Facebook stating Sorry, this content isn't available right now The link you followed may have expired, or the page may only be visible to an audience you're not in.

Hmmm… Is Facebook broken? Nope. Something else had happened.

Creating Captivating Video Content

This is a contributed post to JMLalonde.com. For more information on contributing a post, please see our contributing policies.

Video content is a fantastic tool for promoting a business. It’s a visual form of content that works well online, and especially with social media marketing. Videos don’t have to be very long to be interesting, and they don’t have to have a high production value either. The most important thing is that you get the attention of your audience, and you direct them to take the next step after watching your video. If you want to make videos to promote a product, there are some things to remember to make them captivating. Here are some key things to do when you plan and create a video.