Team Canada: A Nation of Success

Over the past several decades, Canadians have been able to come behind individual athletes to watch them achieve greatness. Though unable to compete themselves, the loyalty and devotion shown to them as fans has been a driving force in the success known as “Team Canada”. Team Canada’s social media is an avid portrayal of their willingness to make sport accessible and to demonstrate that anyone is capable of achieving greatness if they only believe. From inspiring graphics that feature athletes young and old alike, to articles that showcase Canada’s triumphs on the playing field, Team Canada is able to perfectly capture what it means to be Canadian. 

Due to the fact that Team Canada is nearly a cult phenomenon, they have a fairly large social media presence and therefore are able to gain a lot of traction with their posts and content sharing. The Team Canada Facebook page has 756,992 page likes, with post likes ranging from 24 to 50,000 depending on the content relevance. Twitter comes in with a close second at having 561 thousand followers, and Instagram with 84.5 thousand followers. Though not reaching over a million likes/followers on either page, Team Canada  also maintains several other forums, such as the Paralympic pages, the Canadian Olympic Team Foundation, and individual sport pages (Cycling or Hockey to name a few). Surprisingly however, they are able to interact with their followers on nearly every platform; whether it’s by adding to the conversation, addressing concerns or simply stating another point. They seem to keep their commentary relatable and often times add inspiring messages to satisfy their fans. By using the “Join the Olympic Club” slogan, they are able to make the Olympic team exclusive yet also widely attainable for anyone who wishes to participate. By highlighting the word ‘Club’, Team Canada has ensured that their fan base will feel included and apart of the selection process for every Olympic Games. In some ways, they encourage you to pretend to be an Olympian without actually having to be one.

Though the message that they are sharing online is relevant to their content, the one noticeable issue with their three social media platforms is that the same content is shared across the board. Their Instagram and Twitter are fairly similar with an image and a link being shown for both; the same image and link is later shared in full on the Facebook page. By having the same content across three platforms poses the risk of losing a follower base for each one. If viewers see that the same content is being shared on all three platforms and they follow all three, they will most likely unfollow one or the other due to repetitive content – no one wants to see the same thing twice (or three times in this case). The upside to this however is that the content itself will get more views and more traction because it is being shared on multiple platforms; everyone has their chosen media source and therefore will prefer one over another. Instagram leverages graphics and images, such as one of their most recent campaigns, the 100 day countdown to Rio 2016. Everyday Team Canada showcases a moment in Olympic history achieved by a Canadian Athlete; they highlight up and coming Olympic athletes and give them an opportunity to say hello!

The use of these images on Instagram are clean and easy to understand, and basically begging to be shared and screenshotted for use on followers accounts. By having athletes as the mainstage of nearly all their posts, fans and young athletes alike can print out the images of their favourite athletes for inspiration. In some ways, this brings back a devoted follower base who rely on real time images of their favourite athletes to watch; the Team Canada page gets more hits and interaction if you have people returning for content based images and ideas. Take the #iceinourveins campaign for example; the use of new and veteran athletes has people returning to the site time after time to re-watch the magic of what enfolded in the Arctic. In fact, this video now has over 75,000 views on YouTube and thousands more across the platforms on which it has been shared. 

 The #iceinourveins campaign was an idea to demonstrate that Canadians no matter where we go, will take a piece of our northern pride with us. Even though we are travelling to Brazil, we will take the snow and ice with us to win Gold this summer. The video is a great portrayal of who we are as Canadians; individuals who can brave the cold to achieve their dreams however, it would have been interesting to see this version of what they did, shot down in Brazil. It could have been foreshadowing showing Team Canada arriving in a gust of cold air and swirling snow (embracing the stereotype) and emerging as victors in the hot summer sun. Instead of using the #iceinourveins by itself, you could introduce a second hashtag, #heatinourhearts – Team Canada is fired up for Gold!

Overall, Team Canada’s social media can be considered to be greatly successful. They help athletes find sponsors, motivation and help them realize their fan base. They do an excellent job of reaching out to their fan base and encouraging them to donate, connect and envision themselves as a part of the team; after all, the slogan “Join the Club” is used throughout every platform. Though the content that they share could be divided more equally between platforms, the message itself is for the fans and those fans seem to enjoy exactly what Team Canada is serving up.

  

 

 

How Do You Maintain Real Relationships From Behind a Screen?

In today’s day and age, most of our lives are spent behind a screen, whether it be a desktop, laptop, cellphone, tablet, or some kind of gaming device. So naturally this corresponds to our ever evolving work life. It’s almost impossible to work a job, let alone run a business, without using some type of electronic device. Therefore how do we not get lost behind the screens and lose the sense of actually talking to an individual? Here are some helpful tips that we’ve implemented to help maintain as much of a real life relationship with people through screens as possible.

1: Respond to e-mails and text messages as soon as possible
 

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how often people don’t check their e-mails regularly and lose clients over a lack of response. People like to feel valued, so make them a priority. Even if you do not have a response for them right away, shoot them a text or e-mail back letting them know that you see their questions/concerns and will get back to them as soon as you know more, or you’ll keep them updated as the details unfold. When people feel like they’re a priority in your life they’re more likely to give you more time to come back with the full answer when they know that they are not being ignored. When you show respect for their time, they’ll show you respect right back.

Challenge: Set the standard, commit to always responding to people’s emails within 24 hours and see how much of a difference this will make in their patience and attitude towards you and your business. If you want to take it one step further, turn on your read receipts and watch it keep you accountable that when you read their text message, you should respond right away, because they’ll know that you’ve seen it. 


2: Be professional, but personal

Now one of the worst things to do, especially when interacting with or looking for new clients, is to send them a message that looks like you just simply copy – pasted it and sent it out to everyone. People like to feel valued, so take the time to send them a personal message. You don't have to spill your personal life to them, but you also don't have to come across like you don’t have feelings. Find the happy medium, and read the message out loud to see how it comes across. After sending the initial message, it never hurts to observe how they respond to you. If they come back with a very professional message continue with that, but if they add some smiley faces, exclamation marks, etc. it doesn’t hurt to throw some in as well, so that you can become more of a real person to them. In the beginning it never hurts to lean more to the professional side, you can always tone it down a bit later on as the relationship grows.

Challenge:  Find a friend/colleague that can be honest with you and get their opinion on what you’re intending to send your client – at least the first few times. What could be normal to you, could come across pushy or annoying to others. A second opinion never hurts!

3: Get to know your clients

Now that all of our lives are constantly exposed online, we have all have done some social media stalking at some point in time.  "Stalking" or "creeping" might not be the best definition, but it doesn’t hurt to get to know your clients on a more personal level, especially if you plan on working with them for any long period of time. Find a way to get to know their likes, dislikes, if they have a family, if they like sports or music. Take the time to check them out on professional networks like LinkedIn, social platforms like Twitter, and even Google. People like to feel that you actually care and are taking an interest in them, they’ll be more likely to want to use your services in the future if they feel like they’ve built a relationship with you, so find a way to casually get to know them, ask about their week, and see where it goes from there.

Challenge: When adding a new contact in your phone, take some time as you get to know this person to write down a few things that you learn about them in the notes section of their contact information. Make a point to comment on last night’s hockey game, or ask about a recent concert they’ve been talking about. If they have kids, people love bragging about their kids, so ask about them and get interested. It may seem forced to you at first, but as your relationship grows you’ll become genuinely interested in how your client’s daughter’s cheer completion went and if she beat out last year’s nationals winners. 

 
4: Make time for face time.

As much as we all use our screen these days to do just about anything in our lives, it’s always good to make time for actual face to face time. Everyone’s schedules are so overloaded these days, but making time to meet over coffee, lunch or even drinks (depending on the type of meeting it is) can make all the difference. People appreciate being able to put a face to a name, and making an effort to do so can greatly increase your chance of obtaining and maintaining clients throughout your career. If you are working with clients that do not live close to you, set up a time to Facetime or Skype them. As I’ve mentioned throughout this post, people appreciate being valued and the fact that you’re willing to set aside undivided time for someone will mean a lot to them, and boost their confidence in you. 

Challenge: Make a point to meet with or plan face to face screen time with each of your clients, at least once, to show that they are a priority to you, and see your business flourish! It can be a bit nerve-wracking at first, but the more you do it, the more natural it will become.

I hope this has started your mind rolling and thinking about different ways you can create a more personal relationship with your current and future clients. With how much we all use electronic devices, there are many ways that we can easily use them to communicate more effectively. This is just the tip of the iceberg to get you thinking, please feel free to post your comments and any more ideas you use to try and keep a personal relationship with your clients. 

Canadian Companies that Rock Online

In order for a brand to be successful online, they must maintain a high level of interaction. Most would agree that the feeling you get when someone follows you or likes your post is pretty great. You may even think to yourself “Someone cares what I have to say, someone is connecting with my message, the sky is no longer the limit!” But then like any good thing, that high stops and you have no other response. Successful companies know that in order for them to remain relevant, they can’t just have likes and follows, but they need to take it a step further with comments, replies, and questions. These three ways of engaging lead to the most important word of all: interaction.

Personally, the only way I follow someone on Instagram or Twitter, is if their content interests me. Usually it will be scenic photos or fascinating places in the world – I have the travel bug (bad), or tips on how to live a healthy lifestyle or what’s new in the “trendy” world. There are three companies that I have taken an interest in over the years: Lululemon, Herschel and David’s Tea. All of these are iconic Canadian brands have been created and nurtured right here at home. To the average consumer, they are everyday items that have so perfectly placed themselves in your life that you haven’t even noticed that they are all around you. From the best-selling black Lululemon legging that every girl owns (men too, I don’t discriminate), to the well-known brown leather diamond of Herschel, to the drink that you consume on a daily basis. But what really makes you return to the product again and again? How do they stay relevant in a world where new tea ideas are brought forwards every day and your average legging now comes in fifteen different styles and thirty new colours? We come back to that one word that makes any brand stay relevant: interaction.

David's Tea

David’s Tea has a great online presence considering all they do is sell tea. With their first store opening in Toronto in 2008, they have taken the tea world by storm. Similar to Starbucks with their iconic white cup (red for the holidays of course), David’s Tea created a turquoise version with their name stamped beautifully across the side. They have over 100 different flavours ranging from “Cold 911” to “Egyptian Chamomile”. This is where their social media mastery comes in to play. Due to the fact that they have so many teas and no one wants to scroll through dozens of pages online, David’s Tea releases their weekly tea menu to their various social platforms. They share it to Facebook where their 228,751 thousand followers can like and comment, and they share it to Twitter where their 77.2 thousand followers can re-tweet and engage in conversation with a David’s Tea professional. 

Now back to my word of the day, David’s Tea does a great job of interacting with their Twitter followers. If you go onto their page you will see David’s Tea liking and commenting on everything! From answering questions that concerned consumers have, to engaging in debates on which tea is better. This is what makes them stand out from other brands. Shoppers will continue to buy their tea if they feel like they are being appreciated. This goes for Facebook as well. By not posting as many lifestyle pictures to Twitter and instead posting them on Facebook, they are encouraging consumers to like and follow both Twitter and Facebook. This creates a wider platform to spread their message. David’s Tea has such excellent graphics that they even started making phone backgrounds for the real “tea lovers” out there!

 

Herschel

Now Herschel is a brand which in some ways, does the complete opposite then that of David’s Tea. They have more followers on Facebook then “DT” does – 396,335 thousand, and have 736 thousand followers on Instagram. Unlike David’s Tea where they comment on everyone who tweets or mentions them, Herschel doesn’t follow a single person back on Instagram, yet they have a higher like ratio. So what makes them so special? They clearly disregarded my word of the day, so how is their social media presence so great? Lifestyle. The trend with today’s generation is to get outside and take pictures of all the amazing places that you have been. Whether it be hiking the Mohave Desert, climbing a mountain in the Rockies, or exploring caves in Oregon, Herschel will be with you every step of the way. The pictures they post on Instagram are defined by the term “Wanderlust”. It makes consumers want to be there and want to have that backpack with them. Though they aren’t interacting with the consumer, they are catering to what every young adult wants most in the world right now. 

They are a fueling a desire for adventure and by continuing to post content like this, people will buy their product because of what it represents. Their social media presence will continue to grow based on the fact that individuals like having gorgeous backgrounds and photos of unique places on their phone. I for one take no shame in admitting that that’s why I follow them. The videos that they post on Facebook are engaging and easy to watch because they look good with no sound. You can sit at your desk at work or in class and watch Herschel take you around the world. This is why they are succeeding in the social media world. We are relying on them to take us to places where we haven’t been yet and to be honest, their backpacks are amazing quality.

Lululemon

With the mention of quality, I bring myself to the last brand in which we are discussing – Lululemon. Known for its spandex, leggings and Yoga attire, they has an impressive 814 thousand followers on Twitter and an even more impressive 1.2 million followers on Instagram. Lululemon was the one who really started the legging craze. Before them there wasn’t really a need for black spandex to live your life in and now there is. With some tweaks to their social media they have maintained a steady and growing consumer base. After what was dubbed the “PR nightmare of 2013” by their then founder Chip Wilson, Lululemon switched up their social media strategy. They were being accused of catering to a specific lifestyle; one that was meant for thin athletes who used their product daily. Their social media was all about showing a high performance vision and this is what cost them an estimated $45 million in sales. I scrolled back on their Instagram about two years. I saw pictures of Olympians and people do insane weights and gym regimens – definitely not the relaxed style they promote now. Flash-forward two years, its all about Yoga, being happy with yourself, interesting places to do Yoga in your “Lulus” (again feeding that “Wanderlust”) and new lifestyle things for you to try.

With regards to interaction, no one does it like Lululemon. I have mentioned them in four tweets now at different times, each in a different context. They have either liked my tweet or have commented and continued a conversation for two or three tweets. For a company of their magnitude and with the amount of followers they have, it’s impressive the amount of dedication that they have shown to their media. For them interaction with their customers is key. Whether it ‘s by liking a post or sharing content that can benefit the individual, Lululemon is maintaining their client base because they show that they appreciate their customers. 

At the end of the day it really is about interaction. Each of these brands have shown in one way or another that they understand the trends of today – it’s the only way a brand can be successful. With so many relying on social media these days, it's crucial for Canadian brands to take their piece of the pie. If the consumers don’t agree with what they post social media wise, then the brand will suffer. You have to adapt and in today's day and age it happens to be by interacting. 

What other Canadian companies do you know that have a great online presence? 

Gift Giving Guide - Going Local

There are many reasons to shop locally this Christmas. It strengthens your community’s economy, benefits community groups, keeps your area unique, and reduces environmental impact to name a few. It’s win-win for everyone involved. We have curated a list of great gift ideas that support local businesses in the Ottawa and Toronto areas.

For the Working Women in Your Life

Dayna Lee Collection is an Etsy online store featuring “sassy and inspirational hand lettered goods” made in Toronto by young entrepreneur Dayna. Her items including pillow covers, day planners and notebooks, make great gifts for anyone in your life that you would describe as a “girl boss,” or to whom coffee and champagne are necessities. They will remind your loved one to stay positive, keep hustling, and stay focused on achieving their dreams.

Beautiful & Personalized Coasters 

Versatile is a specialized custom printing company run by entrepreneur Dan Fallak, from his home in Almonte, Ontario. He uses 100% natural marble stone imported from Turkey, along with a unique machine and ink formula to create fun and beautiful designs, and also customized coasters via spinoff brand Coasterly. This great local business actually made us some Bowda coasters and we couldn't have been more pleased with the results.

Give Parents a Date Night 

Sometimes the best gifts can’t be defined by something tangible. If they could, some people would put “time” at the top of their Christmas list. If you know a couple with a young child (or two), ProCare after school centre offers Parent’s Night Out services every Friday night from 6 to 10 and Saturdays 5 to 9. This provides a great opportunity for busy parents to get a break and treat themselves (you CAN give the gift of time)! It also would pair great with a gift certificate to their favourite restaurant. 

Coffee, Tea, Treats 

An easy and excellent gift this year would be a gift card for the Ministry of Coffee, an unique and cozy cafe located on Elgin St. where they make delicious lattes, are conscientious in their coffee sourcing, offer a selection of high quality loose leaf teas (try the lemon ginger) and have a variety of food options as well. This gift is a guaranteed success!

DIY Unique Ceramic Pieces 

Take thoughtfulness a step further and put some work into your gift by visiting The Mud Oven, a paint-it-yourself ceramics studio. Here you can create a truly unique gift, be it a mug, teapot, bowl… you get the idea. You may even want to turn this into a participatory event and bring your loved one along for some creative fun! Just be sure to make a reservation ahead of time. 

Everything He Needs for a Perfect Shave

STOUTHEART is an all natural grooming product company based in Ottawa. We love the story behind the company, and what they stand for. As told on their website, “STOUTHEART was created based on the idea that hardworking men deserve a product that is affordable and benefits him in more ways than just a simple shave. The primary goal of STOUTHEART is to make all natural products that are free of harmful chemicals and will activate your senses beyond what is normally expected from your typical morning routine.” Check them out at and give the men in your life a new and invigorating shaving experience that will become a staple in their routine.

Bath and Skin Care

You can give the gift of awesome smelling, nourishing, and environmentally friendly soaps and skin care products this year by swinging by Purple Urchin located on Somerset in Chinatown. They make it easy by offering gift bundles of delicious products. Perfect for daily care as well as those at-home spa days everyone needs once in awhile.

Canadian Winter Staple: The Scarf 

Can anyone have too many scarves? Of course not! Ottawa designer brand Krista Norris Collection features unique, gorgeous scarves for both men and woman, with a wide range of textures and fabrics to suit different styles and occasions. You can find something here for everyone, and the scarf you give will undoubtedly become a staple in your loved one’s wardrobe.

What to do when you’re done your shopping, but need to ship gifts to loved ones who you won’t be seeing this Christmas? Try Flyta, a new Canadian startup shipping company that uses spare airline cargo to provide lower shipping costs (up to 40% cheaper)!  Did we mention that they also pick up and pack for you? Gift wrapping not included though!

Hopefully this list has given you some new gift ideas and inspired you to look locally for your Christmas shopping. For more information on local events and businesses, check out Apt. 613 Support Local. Not from Ottawa? Yellow Pages has developed an initiative called Shop the Neighbourhood that will help you find small businesses in your area.   

5 Social Media Faux Pas & How to Fix Them

Here at Bowda the name of our game is social media. Over the years, our team has spent a lot of time online, and have come across a lot of witty Tweets, interesting Instagram posts, and fascinating Facebook pages. That being said, we are no stranger to the less than wonderful posts being shared every day. What makes them less favourable? We’ve collected a list of the most frustrating faux pas we’ve encountered, and what you can do to avoid them.

1. Automated Messages

This faux pas applies mainly to Twitter, but should be taken into account with all platforms. While we agree that thanking a new follower for their support, either through a direct message or a tweet, is a good idea, please avoid sending an (obviously) automated message. The point behind messaging a new follower is to establish an, albeit small, relationship with them, and thank them for noticing you online. However silly this may sound, going unnoticed on Twitter is never good for a new business, so you always want to demonstrate your appreciation. That being said, the entire meaning behind your message is lost when you’ve used a program to generate a very unnatural response to recently acquired followers. In some cases, it can even lead to being un-followed, if the individual suspects you may be a spam account (which do exist, by the way, and are incredibly irritating to have on your feed). Also, using these auto-mated responses as a marketing tool to advertise your services, or increase your followers, isspam, and will always be treated as such (i.e. blocking, deleting, un-following). Twitter is a fantastic way to connect with strangers all over the world, but your efforts have to be genuine (just like they would be in person).

Bottom line: If you choose to send a thank you to your newest followers, always send a personal message. 

DO: “Hey @BowdaPR, thanks for following! We look forward to learning about how to improve our presence on social media!”

DON’T: “Hey, thanks for following. Sign-up for our newsletter here/buy my cool product/give me money.”

2. Overuse, or incorrect use, of the infamous #hashtag.

Since the beginning of Twitter, the use of the #hashtag has been heavily debated. It is one of the more major learning curves that comes with creating your Twitter account, and most have figured out how to use them on a trail-and-error basis. It is now 2015; Twitter was created in 2006. If you still aren’t sure how to use the hashtag, listen up! There is nothing that demonstrates amateur hour better than misusing #hashtags.

I realize you may be making funny faces at the computer by this point. “There is no purpose to a hashtag, they’re for fun” is, perhaps, one reason behind your distorted brow. Although creating a hashtag can be fun and seemingly useless, there is a method to the madness. A hashtag, essentially, places your tweet in a list of other tweets that share the same hashtag. This can work to your advantage if you decide to share something that is “trending”, where others may see. By using a hashtag, it allows others to see your content who may not have been following you before, and then choose to because you are so wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational.

Now, you’re probably thinking “If hashtags are so great, I’m going to use them all the time! In all my tweets! Only hashtags, no words!” This is where the problem lies. Although this may seem like a great idea, it really isn’t. You only have 140 characters to demonstrate how wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational you are, so don’t waste them on lengthy sentences that become too difficult to read without spaces. The longer your hashtag, the less likely someone else has used it before, therefore stripping the hashtag of its purpose. At Bowda, we have a golden rule of no more than three hashtags, and make sure they are short and sweet. The more concise you are, the easier it is for someone to re-tweet/quote you to their followers. And why wouldn’t they want to, since you’re so wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational?

Bottom Line: Do not use more than three hashtags. Do your research- make sure they are concise, and preferably exist already. 

DO: “We all need a little extra pick-me-up on our Mondays. #MondayMotivation”

DON’T: “Click this link for more information on #climatechange #globalwarming #renewableenergy #letsworktogethertosaveourplanetbeforeitexplodes

3. Abbreviate, but never use lingo.

OMG, LOL, LMAO, ROTFLMAO, IDK, SMH – what on earth am I saying? Exactly!

Even though it is tempting to use MSN language, with a limitation of 140 characters, it is never a good idea. You have no idea who your Tweets are being read by, and the last thing you want to inspire is confusion amongst your followers. Being clear and concise are two absolute musts when tweeting, and as funny as these lingo terms can be, they are anything but clear. SMH? I had to open up a new window, and resort to urban dictionary to solve that one (it means “shake my head” if you didn’t already know!).

Abbreviations are acceptable (i.e. B.C. instead of British Columbia, ‘&’ instead of ‘and’, TGIF instead of thank god it’s Friday), but try to only use the most obvious ones.

Avoiding lingo also assures you avoid sounding ignorant (remember, you’re really wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational and want to remain being seen that way). Nothing takes away from an inspirational quote or a thought-provoking article quite like “omg lololol” following immediately after.

Bottom Line: Minimize your character count without compromising your message. 

DO: “Learn why BC has become the smartest & most environmentally friendly province”

DON’T: “omg look at dis pic à I h8 this s0o much! #smh #idk

4. Improper Grammar

This faux pas results in a lot of head-banging against a wall for some people. It would be really great if the individuals out there who still use “your” instead of “you’re” and “one” instead of “won” would be stripped of their right to access social media platforms, but sadly, this is not the case.

If you are one of these people, I am SMH at you! (Just kidding – there is no judgement here at Bowda. We understand that grammar mishaps happen to even the strictest grammar nerd, thank goodness for that edit button!)

However – and this is a big however – there is no excuse for the use of improper grammar and spelling on your Tweets and/or other social media posts. Nearly all, if not ALL, technological devices that provide us with the ability to post on such platforms come equipped with spellcheck. Please use this tool on a daily basis, and always pay attention to those red/green/blue squiggly lines (you know, the ones that appear every time you try to spell necessary? Or maybe that’s just me) that indicate you have chosen an incorrect letter arrangement. Other times, you have spelled the word correctly, but used the wrong form (i.e. your – you’re, they’re – their – there, whole – hole, lose-loose and I could go on and on and on...); this, my friends, is unacceptable. Thousands of people are on Twitter every day, and they are all presented with the freedom to follow, and un-follow, whomever they please. The followers that you have worked so hard to attain, you need to KEEP them. The best way to do that? Never fail to show them how wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational you are with every single post. People may choose to write you off, and assume what you have to say, or the services you wish to provide, or the messages you want to share, or not worthwhile if they can’t trust you to pay attention to basic grammar rules. The internet can be a cruel place amigos; we just want to help you master your way through it.

Bottom Line: Always triple check your tweets, Instagram captions, and Facebook posts. As we say at Bowda  “spell-check yourself, before you wreck yourself”.

DO: “At Bowda, we represent an environment based on peace and love, and always admire your feedback”.

DON’T: “At Bowda, we represent an environment based on piece and love. and always admir you’re feedback”.

5. Don’t forget that social media is a two-way conversation.

This one is extremely important. Never forget that social media is best used as a conversational tool. Engaging your followers encourages them to continue to follow and support you. Nobody likes to see companies that choose to fill their feed with advertisements or self-proclamations about how great they are. If someone tweets at you, tweet back! When you choose to post something, always encourage a conversation. Never be afraid to ask your audience their opinions. People love to talk, and if you allow your social media page to be a place for them to do it, your number of followers will increase faster than my cat runs after a bag of Temptations treats.

Twitter chats exist for this very reason; both celebrities and companies do it frequently. This concept allows people to ask questions they may have about your company, or comment on ideas that your company represents. Twitter Q&As are always very popular (occurring more with celebrities, authors, talk-show hosts, etc.). Live-tweeting is also done frequently nowadays, which consists of individuals informing people of the details of an event that is happening, that they may not be able to attend. Either way, it’s all good press when you encourage your followers to reach out to you.

Bottom Line: Always engage ALL your followers, and encourage a conversation. 

DO: “At Bowda, we believe Twitter & Instagram are the most successful platforms; what do you think? #socialmedia”

DON’T: “At Bowda we’re so great.”

“At Bowda, we offer services to run your social media and blog accounts for you. Let us do it. We’re great!!”

At the end of the day, we want to commend you for all your efforts to remain relevant on social media and expand your brand on platforms you may be unfamiliar with. If you think conquering social media is easy, you’re most likely not doing it correctly. At Bowda, we believe practice makes perfect, and hope that you take these constructive criticisms as encouragement going forward. After all, what would the world do without your wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational self?