Five months into my gig as a Social Media Coordinator at AutoNation, it seems I am still ironing out a work flow that feels comfortable for me. Even though the nature of being social on social networks means there shouldn’t be a rigid structure of tasks in place, I grew very accustomed to that work style at my last job at the Miami Herald. We worked on deadline. I had my entire work shifts mapped out in advance. I knew when I could take short breaks. The structure of the position became very routine to the point where I could have almost done it blindfolded.
With social media, it’s fluid motions; reacting as necessary when conversations arise. I enjoy this leisurely (I use that word loosely) approach, but sometimes when your interactive and engaging juices start to flow and your Twitter stream becomes more active, you’re greeted with a fail whale and there’s not much you can do. Your work flow is halted. How can you be social when the social sites are down?
1. Browse for links. When I can’t actively tweet because of Twitter’s standard wonkiness or if Facebook is having issues (which is commonplace), I turn to Google reader and see what I can find. I’ve got folders for automotive blogs, RSS feeds and resources that I scour and save for tweeting at a later time. I use delicious and tag these links with #ANtweets so I can find them later easily. This leaves me with an arsenal of info I can pull from to share on slower days. Find a system that works for you that allows you to quickly find resources you can share with your fans and followers when the Internet starts to behave again.
2. Schedule blog posts. You don’t even have to write them. Take @brucefloyd‘s advice and map out a post schedule based on the topics you plan to write about. Put them into your Google calendar. If the networks are down for an extended amount of time, throw a few paragraphs together or compile an outline. This will keep you from putting off posts in the future, though it may be easier said than done. (Can we pretend that this blog post isn’t the first one I’ve written since February? Cool.)
3. Go analog. Grab that writing utensil that we call a “pen” and place it on one of those square white sheets of “paper” and swirl it around a bit. Some of your best ideas come from the simple act of writing things down. Your brain muscles react and stretch in different ways when you use the written word. It’s what @jasonrukusdoes. Put down your iPad and give it a shot.
4. Organize miscellaneous tasks. Our team at AutoNation has become big fans of Action Method. It serves as our project and assignment organization application. We input action items for one another, give them a due date and a priority. We keep it organized by project and topic. On days when the social networks are slow or acting up, I go into Action Method and organize. Did this action item need to be updated? Postponed? Is there a status update I can offer to keep my team in the loop? I do all of these things. It makes me feel productive.
5. The dreaded e-mail. As a last resort, I’ll answer e-mails that I’ve put off. There is no better time to conquer them than when I can’t use Twitter or Facebook as distractions. It’s one of the heaviest weights you can lift off yourself and for me, it makes being active on social sites more enjoyable and fun because I don’t have the cloud of e-mail floating over my head.
What do you do when Twitter and Facebook are acting up and you can’t engage your fans and followers? Share with a comment.
After a fulfilling and enlightening day at WordCamp Miami, I can’t help but use one of my favorite expressions: The event lit a fire under my butt. For the generously cheap $30 attendance fee, I was able to accumulate a list full of things I can’t wait to tinker and play with. The brain cogs are turning with full speed and the inspiration is flowing rapidly through my veins.
Pete Bernardo kicked off the day with a fantastic presentation about WordPress plugins. I, along with most of the audience, were “ooo-ing” and “ahhh-ing” over some of the plugindemos he performed on the spot for us. I found this presentation to be absolutely perfect for someone like me who is fairly comfortable with installing WordPress for client sites, but often hit a wall when it came to enhancing them with advanced features like forms and higher levels of user controls. Thank you, Pete. Thank you, thank you. *Updated* Check out Pete’s presentation from WordCamp below.
We all felt like insiders during the “What’s Coming in WordPress 3.0″ session with Jane Wells of Automattic. A cool new default WordPress theme and “The Merge” between WordPress and WordPress MU are on the horizon. Aside from that, hearing from a super well-versed user experience expert who happened to be a female among a sea of male developers was a breath of fresh air in itself. It led to an awesome brainstorming session between a few of us chicks in the group. Lori Todd wrote a fantastic wrap-up of what we took from that session and our goals moving forward.
Willie Morris tweeted a thought that was also one of my biggest sentiments of the day: It felt like being in college again. Big lecture halls. Lunch on the lawn with friends. Note-taking. It was a throwback to my days at UF and I was overjoyed that they chose to host the event on a college campus. There is no better way to foster higher learning than to put your attendees directly into that environmental setting. Excellent venue choice (even though I hate the Canes. Go Gators!).
Another stand-out presentation for me was Tammy Hart’s session on using WordPress with clients. Amen. I’ve been looking forward to a presentation like this for the longest time because of my experience level. I hate the frustration that I get when potential clients bring me WordPress requests but I am unable to meet their needs. Tammy’s session made me feel okay about that and gave me some guidelines about where to go to find solutions. Aside from the tips that she shared (and there were many) I was more inspired by the presence and expertise of yet another female who has been able to build a successful business around WordPress development and maintenance with clients. She is also completely self-taught. My hat is off to Tammy.
As Lori said in her post, I’m really pleased that the organizers of this event decided to plan it separately from BarCamp Miami this year. I recall last year being torn between several WordCamp and BarCamp sessions and losing out by having to chose. The separate camp remedied that and because it was tailored to three different levels of interest, there was something for everyone.
Bravo to David Bisset, John Carcutt and the rest of the WordCamp organizers. The motivation from the fire that is now lit under my bum to get up and do something was worth every penny. See you all at BarCamp tomorrow!
By now I’m sure that most people who read this post already know that I’ve started my new job as one of the Social Media Coordinators at AutoNation in Fort Lauderdale. The Miami Herald and I have amicably parted ways, and while there are quite a few things I miss about working in a newsroom, this change was welcomed with open arms. So far I am nothing short of delighted and excited to be doing what had always excited me most about my job at the Herald in the first place — social media — which, ironically enough, is how I got this gig.
I’m finding out quickly that moving from a newsroom to a corporate marketing department means using social media in a completely different way. The whole point of this social media thing is to (excuse the cliche use of a buzzword) “engage” and “participate” and join in discussions and be a part of our own online communities, that’s all well and good. But when the overall objectives of the company go from reporting the news quickly and accurately to selling you an automobile, you can see how the strategies for engagement start to part ways.
We’ll be working on expanding social media programs into the regionalized dealerships, which are all branded independently, so that they may take their own reins and embrace their local online communities at the dealership level. It will be a challenge for the team (and what an awesome team I’m working with, by the way) but one that everyone at AutoNation is looking forward to put in motion.
It’s the start of a new adventure. I don’t like to think that I abandoned journalism. No sad violins please. After a year in the newsroom of a big metro daily it’s hard not to get a little bit addicted to that buzz. The buzz of high-paced energy and news bits flying around you every minute. There’s a natural high that comes with it, but there’s also a stress level that I will not miss.
As I go fourth and fill my head, laptop and iPhone with knowledge, notes and apps, I hope to also keep filling this blog with experiences and afterthoughts. Stay along for the ride, won’t you?
I want to point anyone who subscribes to this blog over to the live blog for today’s CrisisCamp Miami event. It’s awesome how many people have showed up here at The Miami Herald building to build technical relief projects to aid non-government organizations working in Haiti. You can follow the event, which is happening all over the world in different cities, by searching for hashtag #ccHaiti on Twitter or on our live blog on the Web site.
There is no doubt about the amount of good that has been done in the aftermath of Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in Haiti as a result of social media. Text campaigns to raise funds, alerting rescuers to buried survivors and allowing Haitians to search for missing loved ones only scratches the surface. The outpouring of support and eagerness to help is reminiscent of the weeks following the 9/11 attacks.
With a death toll that may soon hit the hundreds of thousands in a place that was already ravaged by poverty and violence to begin with, nobody knows yet how large the scale of this disaster will reach.
In light of these events it would seem obvious that this wouldn’t be an appropriate opportunity to try and bait a mass of new Twitter followers, but apparently that isn’t obvious to everyone. Take Cleveland Browns receiver Donte Stallworth for example:
Sorry Donte. I don’t believe your intentions were bad. In fact, I’m a huge cheerleader for people who have been graced with high-paying careers who make a point to give to those in need in times of crisis. I just want to give you some outside perspective here.
We all know NFL athletes make the big bucks. Big enough bucks to be able to negotiate a settlement out of court last year after accidentally killing a pedestrian in Miami Beach. You clearly don’t need Twitter followers to be able to write a check. I understand that this may have been an oversight in your efforts to raise funds, but the nature of this emergency makes your quest for followers seem petty. The doctors in Haiti who need the supplies to help the dying could care less about your follower count, but they could certainly use the monetary donations to buy what they need to save more lives. Why waste time tied up in Twitter?
Yes, use Twitter to ask your followers to donate if they can. Yes, use Twitter to organize relief efforts. But please, don’t play follower games during tragedies. Things like that need to be left out of the equation altogether.
