We’re all striving for engagement, right? Follows, Likes, Comments, Shares. We toss and turn at night trying to strategize how we can get more of each. We’re all guilty of wondering, “How can I get something to go viral.”
I almost am tired of hearing myself say it, but I’m often heard telling potential clients as well as audiences that I speak to, “You can’t be all things to all people. And by that I mean, you can’t be on every social media platform. So, pick those that you like and are most likely to stay active on, regularly.”
For all intents and purposes, the newest social media app is Threads. (I know, they launch so quickly nowadays that you might be saying, “That’s not the newest one! There’s an app that just came out called x. Haven’t you heard of that one yet?!”) Just under two weeks ago on Episode 494 of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast, I asked singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Townsend how she is finding Threads to be so far and if she would recommend it to others and if she thinks she’ll stick with using it.
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After all, it can be a bit overwhelming to some people and we’ll all take all the tips we can get, right? I have a bunch myself but this week I’d love some feedback from you because there are some things that I see being done on Instagram in particular that just really make me scratch my head. It becomes one of those, “Is it just me?” situations.
First is, keep in mind that we all look at Instagram on our phone. Yes, I know, you can view it on desktop, but for all intents and purposes I’m sure the overwhelming majority of users are on their phone. So then tell me, when you post a QR code on there, how do you expect me to shoot it with my phone … since I’m seeing it ON my phone?! This might be a good time to look at your analytics and see if they show usage by device and/or source. To think that someone’s going to seek out someone else’s phone (which, again, now the QR code’s destination is going to come up on a device that they’re going to have to hand back) OR that they’re going to get themselves in front of a laptop so they can shoot it is really asking a lot.
But then again, maybe I’m missing something here and you can call me and set me straight (or contact me through social media and let me know through that means).
Another confusing scenario is reading a post on Instagram that has a long, messy URL in it that not only is next to impossible to memorize, but, more importantly, can’t be tapped on! Yes, I know, some people (like me) will say, “Link in bio.” For the record, I also have a super short, easy to remember URL for my podcast website (www.NHTE.net) yet I still write it out and say, “Link in bio.” But when you give me one that has lots and lots (and lots) of characters in it (sometimes letters, numbers, and even, say, a slash or two), I just don’t know what to do with that.
I’ll sometimes even see, “See link in first comment.” Well guess what? I can’t tap on that either.
I think these folks are connecting their Facebook account to their Instagram account and they’re posting through Facebook, so they see it working there. But they’re forgetting that it’s not translating over to Instagram – at all. But then again, maybe I’m missing something here and you can call me and set me straight (or contact me through social media and let me know through that means).
The last one is, I see people who post the exact same thing twice on their Instagram account – in the same day. That last part is just as important so you understand that I do get why someone would re-post something they’d put up, say, two weeks earlier (i.e., “My new single is available for you to pre-save now on Spotify”). Are you going to tell me that it’s just an accident even though I see it happen with enough regularity that I’m including it in this blog?
Maybe not with the first two incidents above, but in this case, wouldn’t you notice it just by looking at your own Instagram profile page? It’s not a case of, “Why would I be scrolling back through my own profile page” because there’s no scrolling involved here. Your eyes drop down and see that your two most recent posts are the exact same.
Someone please explain to me why this might actually be intentional.
Among the tips I have social media-wise is one that actually is for Twitter. But we can chat about other topics too. I talk regularly on my podcast about Owwll and do encourage you to get on that app. Use it to call me and let’s discuss what you do and how my almost 20 years of helping clients around the country can offer some suggestions to help you continue on the path towards success with your career.