We Learned Something from Jimmy Kimmel?
Here’s Johnny! Oops, we mean Jimmy. Jimmy Kimmel… the late-night talk show host (and comedian) who had previously declared Twitter war with us on his TV show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and on Twitter.
It was an interesting, fun and very cool experience… and one that we learned a lot from as well.
What exactly did we learn?
This is what we learned:
1. Branding is important.
Having a brand that people can associate you with is very important. Unless you are extremely famous and everybody knows your name, having a brand that’s different, something people can relate to or remember easily, and even something fun, will go a long way in getting you noticed by others.
Once you develop a brand you need to make sure that everything you do is through that brand. The more you put your brand out there, the more people will remember it and the more people will get to see it. It’s also a good thing to tie it into your tweets and postings on Facebook… just a word here and there that relates to your brand.
Another thing we found is that it really helps to have a brand that fits you. If it is a brand that you can’t relate to, or just doesn’t speak to who you are, then you are less likely to use it to the fullest… and a lot of people will notice the disconnect and not buy into it. Find something you can be comfortable with. After all, you will be promoting yourself through this brand.
2. It doesn’t happen overnight.
We’ve been working on our Twitter relationships for two years… following people, tweeting, getting involved in Twitter groups, re-tweeting, and building a lot of relationships. Usually, unless there’s extenuating circumstances like having your own TV show, getting up to 57,000 followers takes time.
So the secret… get on Twitter and build relationships. Get involved. That doesn’t mean you have to be on Twitter 24/7 either. A little bit here and there connecting with people goes a long way. As well, you can take advantage of auto-tweet programs, such as HootSuite. But use the auto-tweet programs as a compliment to personally connecting… don’t use them for everything you do on Twitter.
3. Communicate with your followers.
One thing that was mentioned by Jimmy’s followers as well as ours was that Jimmy wasn’t on Twitter talking to them. Again, social media, no matter which site you’re on, is all about relationships. We even got a few of Jimmy’s followers to switch sides because we were actually talking to them.
4. Don’t take it personally.
Because our name and picture were seen by a lot of people, we got a lot of not-so-complimentary comments; we just didn’t take any of them to heart. You are not going to be liked or put in a good light by everyone. The interesting thing is that nearly all of the people who don’t have anything nice to say about you, don’t even know you at all. So what do they base their comments on? They make it up.
To get noticed you need to stick your head above the sand… and some people will take that opportunity to use it as “target practice”. Criticism and detrimental comments are part of life, but one that we don’t need to buy into.
Social media can be a lot of fun, while meeting a lot of cool people at the same time. You never know who you’ll meet and what crazy and interesting experiences you’ll have along the way.
Leave us a comment on what you’ve learned about social media and getting noticed online… and some challenges you’ve had in that regard as well. We’d love to hear about it!
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