Vanity Metrics and why you should do without them

vanity metrics mirror
Image by analogicus on Pixabay

Earlier this year I wrote a two part blog piece about my social media wishes for 2019. You can read Pt 1 here. Number 11 in Pt. 2 is about Vanity Metrics. I go into further detail about Vanity Metrics in this article.

There is an idea that if a social media account has a large following that more people will be attracted to it and be more likely to do the same. I do think there is some truth to it, but faking it won’t do you any favors. The focus is on the number and the number alone. When this is the case it becomes a vanity metric. Perception is important but it’s not the be all end all. Vanity Metrics may look nice, but in the end it has to be more than just appearance.

If you are applying for a job, it doesn’t matter how good you’re resume is, if you show up late and mess up in the interview your not getting the job.

Vanity Metrics: What to look for

There are companies and services that you can pay to grow your social media audience. Essentially, you are paying for “Likes” and “Followers.” Some of these companies say that they will grow your audience organically. (Anytime you hear the word organic when talking about social media it means that it is activity that is not paid for.) Most of the time it’s not organic, and it’s the worst thing you can do.

The problem is that the likes you are going to get are fake and from click farms. All day long people just like Facebook pages. They are fake and will grow your business or help your online presence. After someone from a click farm likes the page, it will NEVER engage with your content. NEVER. The energy and focus needs to be spent attracting and engaging people to your social media platforms that care about you, your business, your product, and want to engage with your content.

The main problem is only a small percentage of the people who have liked your Facebook Page will see the content you post. Because of this you want the accounts to be real. The more engagement (likes, comments, and shares) a post receives shortly after it is posted, the better it will do. When there is high engagement, Facebook and other platforms then show that post to a larger audience. You want to INCREASE your chances of success not decrease.

Remember, the quality of the followers is more important than the number itself. of the followers that’s importantVanity Metric bad. Engagement good.

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The Power of Twitter Search and Why You Should Be Using It.

Twitter is very noisy. It is a never-ending cascading stream of content. Links, images and video. It can be very overwhelming. It is important to post to Twitter, but it is just as important to listen. If you listen and set up the right search queries, Twitter can be a great lead-generation tool.

The advanced search feature of Twitter is your new best friend. It allows you to search for keywords, phrases and hashtags. For more in-depth targeting, you can narrow your search by entering a date range and location. The default search radius in the advanced Twitter search is 15 miles. If this is too wide, you can adjust it by entering your search query in the main Twitter search bar using this format:

keyword or phrase near:”zip code” within:15mi

Using the Twitter search feature is a good way to find people or conversations that are happening around a certain topic or statement. You may even be able to find a new customer for your product or service.

As an experiment I did a Twitter search for:
I need a haircut near:”10036″ within:10mi

A long list of tweets appeared, but these two stood out.

1) I need a haircut real bad but my barber isn’t available till Friday 🙁

2) I need a haircut, any suggestions?

If you were a hair stylist, this would be a perfect opportunity to reply to their tweet and engage with them.

Can you think of any keywords or phrases that are relevant to your business? Try it out in the Advanced Twitter Search and let me know how it goes.

Hashtags and TV

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Twitter Hashtags are taking off and  becoming part of the TV watching experience. TV networks are now assigning hastags (#) for their shows. A hashtag creates a searchable topic or conversation on twitter. At the beginning of the CBS show How I Met Your Mother, for example, #HIMYM flashes on the screen. Any one that uses that hashtag in a tweet can add to or participate in a threaded discussion.

In addition to sharing what you are watching by using hashtags on twitter you can also check-in using GetGlue. GetGlue is an application and website that is getting some popularity. It is similar to FourSquare and allows you to check into movies, music, television, books, sports and more. You can share what you are reading, listening to or watching. GetGlue also gives you recommendations on other content it thinks you will enjoy based on your check-ins. The mobile app runs on iPhone, iPad, Andriod, Blackberry and other devices.

Our on-line and off-line lives are constantly getting closer to being one of the same.

What do you think?