Hey, Friends! You are in luck – I’m in a social media marketing class at SNHU. My first assignment is to explore how I consume social media and share it in a blog post. So, once again, you get to read my homework.
My Digital Media Day
I start most days with a bleary-eyed scroll through Facebook to see if anything is happening. I move on to Instagram for pretty pictures. Then I move on to checking my calendar and the New York Times.
I am not allowed to type while I’m in bed. It took me a while to realize it, but before I’m fully awake I write odd things. Typos are the least of my issues while I’m sleepy – sometimes it is fully incoherent.
After getting myself ready for the day, I go downstairs to help Jeremy get off to work, then I drink my coffee and actually engage with Instagram. I will respond to comments, then find a few posts to comment on, to keep the community spirit going. Then it is time to tackle my email.
I open emails from Sue Spargo as soon as I notice them. I find her content to be light and enjoyable. Other accounts that get my instant attention are Fish Museum and Circus and Carolyn Friedlander. Mostly what I am looking for is inspiration from other artists, but not too much. I want to make sure I keep my creative voice my own, not just imitating people I enjoy.
When I go to my office to start my workday, I log into my blog to address any comments on my posts.
During the workday I try to avoid logging into any social media. Otherwise it feels like a constant drain on my attention. It is impossible to respond to a comment and not scroll through, just a little.
After dinner we have TV time. I usually do hand stitching, but sometimes I engage with social media during that time.
The Platforms
Facebook is a platform I don’t love. I enjoy some of the groups I participate in, and I enjoy helping struggling quilters, but otherwise it is a time-suck. I am a member of a lot of groups, and so many of the participants just complain endlessly. I wish people would make an effort to be positive. I think I could happily give up Facebook entirely, but as a business owner I feel like I need to keep engaged there. I am in an industry (quilting) where the majority of consumers are middle-aged or older, and Facebook is by far the most popular platform with that demographic.
Instagram is my favorite social media platform. I feel like I understand what is happening, I have moderate control over what I see, and I enjoy the community. It also feels more positive. I enjoy the imagery-first approach of Instagram. Most of the accounts I follow put some effort into their photos, too, which means it is a stream of loveliness, along with some dumpling ads and kitten videos.
My email inbox is constantly overflowing. My Gmail account separates things for me into categories, which is a huge help. I must get hundreds of emails from companies every day. I rarely read any of them. There are a few designers who get about a 50% open rate from me. Otherwise they just sit until I decide to empty the Promotions folder.
How do you engage with digital media? Do you have a favorite platform?
My favorite social media platform is blogs. I love having a curated blog list and I enjoy reading, commenting, and replying to comments through blogs. Since Bloglovin’ imploded, I’ve been using Feedly to keep me apprised of new blog posts. The thing that feels to best to me about blog is that I have direct control over what I see. It can be harder to branch out and add new bloggers, and the traffic has been dropping over the years due to things like Bloglovin’ imploding and the rise of “quicker” fixes like Instagram. My second favorite is Instagram, and I really abhor Facebook. I am only there because I am a business owner. And golly, people can really get engaged there. In fact, I think I get way more eyes, views, and comments on my Facebook page posts than I do through Instagram.
You’re the master class in how to do blogging. I see you here, there, and a reference to Ted Lasso I won’t type out! Your posts are so concise but still conversational, I love the chats that happen in your comments, and I see you on others’ blogs all the time joining in. I also switch to Feedly (RIP bloglovin’), and the search feature to find new bloggers can be a pain.
I much prefer blogs over most other media although I do love to scroll pretty pictures on IG – however, lately it has become so ad heavy that it’s stealing some of the joy. I also like the control I have over what blogs I see rather than having things shoved at me on FB & IG. I really only use FB to keep up with family and a very few quilting groups.
Hi Jen! What an interesting post. Before I comment on anything else . . . wouldn’t an Alaska cruise coupled with quilting be COOL?!! I would love to do that. Okay – focus now. This sounds like a wonderful course. Social media can be a time hog, for sure. I’ve had to step away from almost everything including my own blog because it was making me so stressed. Of course, here I am – reading your post. I allow myself to view my Word Press blog friends on Friday only. I plan to add back IG soon but feel like I can skip FB altogether. There’s only so much time in a day. How do you want to spend it and what deserves your time is an individual thing. Thanks for the thought-provoking post! {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne