Top 15 Social Media Tips from Guy Kawasaki’s “The Art of Social Media”

 

To preface, I am no social media expert, but for anyone starting out, I think these tips could get you somewhere. So without further ado, here are the top 15 social media tips from Guy Kawasaki’s “The Art of Social Media” and what number they show up as in the book:

1. Optimize your profile for 5 seconds (2). 

As Kawasaki says, social media is all about snap judgments. So make sure your profile shows in 5 seconds that you are “likable, trustworthy, and competent.”

2. Focus your avatar on your face (3)! 

This does not mean like a mug shot. Think of a happy candid, and make sure that the image size is large, meaning it isn’t cropped from a larger photo where your face makes up only 2%. The last thing you want is poor image quality (unprofessional)! Also, make sure your profile image is the same across all platforms so that you are actually recognizable.

3. Craft a mantra (5).

I think this one is my personal favorite, and I definitely put it in practice (hint: Let Me Show You). It makes you look interesting and entices people to want to know what you mean. Or at least I think it does… Do you think I’m interesting?

4. Pass the reshare test (13).

If you post something, and you don’t think your followers will repost it on their fan account: rethink what you are posting. It should be shareable! If it’s not, you have one of two issues: either your post just isn’t interesting enough, or no one cares about what you have to say. Both of which mean you’ve got some work to do!

5. Seize the (holi)day (20).

One of the best times to share a post is during or near a holiday. Pretty much everyone knows this, but if you haven’t put it into practice yet, try it and see how much interaction your post gets.

6. Be valuable (23).

Kawasaki advises to have one of the following in every post: information, analysis, assistance, or entertainment. So know your audience and what content they find valuable.

7. Be bold (25).

This is another favorite of mine. You have to be a little bold to be noticed, so express yourself! People don’t care about another normal person. They want to follow people that they wish they could be. As Kawasaki states, if you’re not pissing someone off, you’re doing social media wrong. Thank you Kawasaki.

8. Be active (32).

Nothing can kill your social media quite as much as being inactive. There’s nothing new to interact with! That’s all there is to it! It is unlikely that people will interact with your page on any platform if a recent post from you does not pop up in their timeline. Heck, you probably won’t even cross their mind.

9. Consider the total audience (44).

This one pertains to responding to comments in the book, but also should be considered with each post. Lots of people are watching and judging, and any hard swings could knock you out for good. So maybe don’t piss people off too much.

10. Assume people are good until proven bad (45).

OK, we are all guilty of this one. We see a comment, take it the wrong way (or the right way) and go to war. So the key is to either avoid the conflict entirely, or find out what the commenter actually meant. It may still turn out that you read it the way it was meant, but the comment could also just be sarcastic.

11. “Peg” your post (67).

This one refers to the co-author of the book Peg Fitzpatrick’s methodology to totally integrate social media and blogging. Meaning, post everything everywhere and promote it like there’s no tomorrow. So grab your visuals and pin it, tweet it, post, and repost! Expand your reach as far as it can possibly go.

12. Share good stuff (68).

I know. You’re probably thinking “well duh,” but it is harder than it sounds. Posts need to be engaging, spark interaction, and be good enough for a snap decision. It takes a lot of practice, and definitely isn’t easy, but you can get the hang of it.

13. Jump on new platforms (69).

If you are trying to become an influencer, the most likely way to achieve this is by jumping on a new platform as soon as it comes out and creating content. Kawasaki states that “every new platform creates a new set of stars.” Just look at all the newly famous teenagers from TikTok. Then you can connect all your accounts and branch to multiple platforms.

14. Pick a short, evergreen hashtag (70).

Don’t use 25 different hashtags! It makes you look like an idiot trying to hack the system (though this makes it sometimes useful). Pick something short and sweet that other people can use to promote you and your content further.

15. Go anonymous (10 & 41).

Kawasaki repeats this one, so it must be important. Look at your posts in an incognito window to see what your followers see. While most platforms have this in some form now through the platform’s timeline, it can’t hurt to check.

Those are 15 of the best tips in Kawasaki’s “The Art of Social Media.” Much more depth is included in the book, and I am not Kawasaki so find a book today here.