Name: The Art of Social Media
Rating: 3.6 (85 reviews)
Author: Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick

What’s in it for me? Learn inside tips on how to best harness the power of social media networks.

Social media site Facebook has some 1.3 billion users from around the world. Twitter’s numbers are not so far behind.

With so many ears and eyes in one place, a business would be foolish to not take advantage of such an audience. Yet there’s a big difference between just posting and posting with purpose.

These blinks will show you exactly how you or your company can not only reach out to but keep the interest of people on social media networks. You’ll learn too that with a deeper insight into how social media networks really work, the way you approach Facebook and Twitter may change forever!

In the following blinks, you’ll discover:

why you’ll come to regret your goofy Facebook username like a hangover;
how joining blogging networks can expand your blog’s reach exponentially; and
how you can produce a wildly popular TV show out of your own living room.

Drunken profile pic and handle, “MartiniMom?” Think about how you present yourself online.

The first things you see on any social media platform are a picture and a name.

With these two tiny pieces of information, people make a snap decision: to follow, or not?

If you want to give yourself a headstart on social media, you need to take seriously the importance of screen names and profile pictures.

First off, today’s clever username may be tomorrow’s regret. A name like MartiniMom or HatTrickHank might be funny now, but potentially embarrassing if you want to connect with serious businesses in the future!

The best screen names are simple, memorable and logical. The best option? Your own name. And in full! A screen name like “Guy Kawasaki” is a cut above something like “G.T. Kawasaki.”

Once you’ve chosen a screen name, you’ll need a vanity URL for the social network you’re using.

This way, people will see your name in the URL of your profile, such as plus.google.com/+JohnDoe/. Without a vanity URL, your profile will be identified by just a random string of numbers.

Depending on the social network, it might be too late to get a unique URL that includes your name, but you should try and get something as close as possible. If you want to be remembered, you’ll need something better than a string of numbers!

Next, consider your profile picture. For one, a picture proves that the page really belongs to you. There might be hundreds of people with your name, so you’ll need a profile picture to make yourself recognizable.

Profile pictures can also communicate more than just your identity. They should ideally give the impression of someone likeable, trustworthy and competent. So choose one where you’re smiling and your face is clearly visible.

Kernaussagen in The Art of Social Media

Über den Autor

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at online design service Canva, and an executive fellow at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. Previously he was the chief evangelist at Apple and special adviser to the CEO of the Motorola business unit at Google. He has 1.44 million followers on Twitter and 6.8 million on Google+.

Peg Fitzpatrick is a social-media strategist and director of digital media for Kreussler Inc. She’s spearheaded successful social media campaigns for Motorola, Google, Audi, Canva and Virgin.