Social Media

Why Writers Should Use Snapchat

see-jane-snap-karla

Karla Khodanian is my social media superhero.

Last night Karla led a workshop on Snapchat for the women of See Jane Write. I’ve said before that Snapchat is not my jam. For years I resisted even downloading the app because I thought it was just something teens used for sexting and even after I did sign up for an account I never used it because everyone I knew only used it make goofy pictures.

(more…)

#Blogalicious8: How to #SpeakBeautiful

luvvie-speaks
Photo by Artney of My Pretty Brown Fit

This weekend I’ve had the privilege of attending the 8th annual Blogalicious Weekend, the premier multicultural women’s blogging conference co-founded by Stacey Ferguson, a.k.a. Justice Fergie.

Yesterday’s agenda kicked off with a special talk presented by Dove and its #SpeakBeautiful campaign, which seeks to change how we talk about beauty online.

The presentation began with words from Luvvie Ajayi of the wildly popular blog Awesomely Lovely and author of the New York Times Best Seller I’m Judging You.

(more…)

I Took a Break From Periscope and Almost Broke My Business

periscope pic

From March 1 to March 7, I didn’t use Periscope. I didn’t do any Periscope broadcasts and I didn’t watch any.

If Periscope is not your jam, a seven-day fast from this social media platform means nothing to you. But Periscope is my jam, my jelly, and my bread and butter. I LOVE PERISCOPE.

And that’s my problem. I was watching and/or listening to Periscope broadcasts ALL THE TIME – in the morning as I got ready for work, in the evening when I took walks through my neighborhood, while I was cooking, while I was driving, while I was painting my nails and waiting for them to dry.

The people I follow on Periscope are fellow bloggers and content creators. They’re female entrepreneurs who are slaying the game and I am eager to learn all their tricks of the trade.

But I was so obsessed with Periscope that I was barely spending time in prayer and reading Scripture.

So essentially I gave up Periscope for Jesus.

And I didn’t even miss it. Or so I thought.

(more…)

How to Not Freak Out About the New Instagram Changes

instagram changes

It’s official. Starting tomorrow Instagram is changing its platform and using an algorithm that will affect what appears in your feed. Instead of the latest 150 posts showing up chronologically as they have in the past, images and media will appear in your feed based on “the likelihood you’ll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post,” according to Instagram. Yes, this sounds a lot like Facebook and yes, you should have expected this since Facebook owns Instagram, but no, this doesn’t mean you should give up on Instagram.

As I’ve been known to say — don’t get bitter, get better.

This change will not only affect what you see in your feed, it also affects how likely your followers are to see your content. This is huge if you’re trying to use Instagram to build a personal brand or to promote your blog, book or business.

For years I used Instagram just for fun, but back in October I started an account for my personal brand and business — @seejavaciawrite — and started posting occasionally. But I will be honest with you, I’m worried I’ve done too little, too late.

But instead of throwing a virtual temper tantrum and organizing a protest and petition against Instagram, I’m going to get my feed in “formation.” Here’s how you can do the same…

(more…)