#people keep replying to their normal business/promotional tweets like “are you going to do anything about the phantom”

[opera-ghost]

phantom of the opera + twitter / (insp)

[pinterestads-us]

Ways to Provide on Etsy

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References Etsy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etsy

[ukulelewrites]

thank u, next

A/N: am i whipped for one (1) kangaroo leader???????? maybe lol but i’m on break rn for cranberry season and i whipped up this fic after listening to this song on repeat for a kajibillion hours. i’m thinking of making this a two part series? or should i keep the ending as is? or do y’all want more of this dynamic???? lmk what yall think!!! Also if anyone can tell what the song skz is singing hmu

Pairing: Stray Kids’ Chan x Reader

Genre: Angst/Fluff/Pop Star!Reader x Rock Star!Chan/Exes AU

Word Count: 5.4k 

Thought I’d end up with Han / But he wasn’t a match,

Wrote some songs about Hyunjin / Now I listen and laugh,

These words flowed through the car stereo late at night as Chan found himself kissing some random girl he met at the nightclub. She kept her hands clutching tightly to his leather jacket, and he smirked as she let out another sigh.

Even almost got married / And for Chan I’m so thankful,

Wish I could say “thank you” to Felix / Cause he was an angel,

Chan froze once he heard his name coming from the stereo. “What’s wrong, babe?” the girl, who’s name had slipped his mind, asked.

He dropped his shocked expression and slipped back into his normal cocky facade. “Nothing, don’t worry ‘bout it,” he reassured her, leaning down to ghost his lips against hers, Now, where were we?”

One taught me love / One taught me regret

One taught me pain / Now, I just can’t forget

You had not expected such an explosive reaction to your newest single, but here you were, scrolling down your Twitter feed to the endless tweets gushing over “thank u, next.”

“Darling! You’ve done it once again!” your manager exclaimed as she burst into your dressing room, “I’m getting calls after calls asking you to come onto talk shows, radio shows, award shows, the whole shebang!”

“I’m glad to see you’re so excited about this, Melissa,” you teased, “I haven’t seen you this happy since you’ve met Chris Evans.”

“Now, as much as I love that man, I love you much more, my little songbird,” she sang as she booped your nose. “Did you hear what they’re calling this? ‘Pop Princess turned Pop Queen!’ God how I love the press! They’re eating this whole thing up!”

“I guess they didn’t expect me to release such an honest song,” you replied, still scrolling through your feed.

“Of course they didn’t! Who knew innocent ‘Somni’ would pull a Taylor Swift and drop a song about her exes? And name them too? No other artist has done that before!”

“I’m pretty sure I wrote that song about my self-growth, Melissa, not just to highlight I dated those guys.”

“Of course, darling. Now, why don’t we get you all dolled up for the red carpet? It’s your first public appearance as the ‘new’ you!” She let out a squeal before running out to grab your stylist and make-up artist.

You giggled at her newfound excitement and looked back down at your phone only to freeze at the headline glaring back you: CHAN CONQUESTS AGAIN? You swallowed down the uneasiness that crept upon you and placed your phone face down. “Get a grip, Y/N. You’re no longer ‘little Ms. Pop Princess,’” you said to yourself, training your eyes firmly on your reflection in the mirror, “and some boy isn’t going to make you revert to that.”

“Now, Somni, how does it feel to be all grown up now?” Amber asked. You laughed at her formality, considering the two of you were close friends, and pretended to ponder upon the answer.

“Honestly, I have no clue what you’re talking about,” you answered, giggling a bit at the eye roll she gives you and the disappointed looks you get from the audience members.

“I can’t believe you’re playing coy with me right now!” she jokingly complained, “I expect answers during my interviews, Y/N, answers!” The audience ooh’d when she used your real name.

“Sorry, Amber, I just don’t get your question! I’ve been a grown up since I turned 18, and that was a while ago.”

“Nuh uh! Somni was not grown up two years ago when she released ‘Wonderland.” Iconic album, but definitely the cookie cutter pop album we’d expected it to be. But this? ‘thank u, next’ completely defies what we expected coming from you! What caused the shift?”

You could practically feel the audience members leaning forward with bated breath. Ever since the song dropped a month ago, the internet had been ablazed with speculation over your music’s sudden shift.

“Well, I guess I was done writing a narrative where I was always the person getting saved,” you said, referring to the long list of love songs you had written in the past, “and I wanted to be the person that saved myself. ‘Monochrome’ is definitely going to show more of that self-love theme that I teased in ‘thank u, next,’ and I’m so happy that everyone has been so supportive of the change!” You gestured towards the audience members, earning a cheer from them, and even acknowledged the camera, knowing many of your fans were also watching at home.

“Amazing. I’m so proud of you for taking that next step in your career,” Amber gushed, earning an ‘awww’ from the audience, “Now, we can’t just ignore what everyone here actually wants to know about.”

You looked at her and quirked a brow. “And what is that?”

“The boys of course! You can’t just name drop them without spilling some tea, sis,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“Stop,” you whined, “why would you even bring them up?” You exaggerated bashfulness by covering your face with your hands.

“C’mon, you name dropped a few big names in that song. Han? The biggest name in the up and coming rap scene right now! Hyunjin? He’s the highest paid male model in the world! Felix? Before his retreatment from the scene, he was the most well-known actor of his time!”

“Well, they helped build me into the person I am today. I didn’t think anything more of it,” you replied diplomatically.

“And we cannot leave out the biggest bombshell from that song: Chan, the lead guitarist of SKZ, which is, by the way to anyone watching who have been living under a rock for the past year, the biggest rock band on the scene right now! Who knew you were into the bad boy type, Somni? And you almost married the guy too!”

You let out an airy chuckle, shifting uncomfortably in your seat. “Yeah, we were young and in love. A risky combination if you ask me,” you joked, eliciting laughter from your audience.

“C’mon, Somni, you gotta give us something!” Amber pleaded.

“You know I don’t kiss and tell,” you jested, “especially not to the thousands of people who watch your show!” The audience whined at your statement, and you only flashed them an apologetic smile.

“But seriously, how did the bright-eyed, princess of the pop world end up almost married to the biggest playboy rock star on the scene right now?” Amber goaded.

“We were different at the time, Ambs. Life just happened to end up this way,” you replied cryptically. She tsked at your unwillingness to spill everything, but she retreated from the topic.

“Anyways, focusing back on you, I heard you’ll be performing at the American Music Awards, and you’re premiering your new single’s music video during it? That’s huge!”

“Yeah, ‘Without Me’ is getting a music video. Stan Twitter, this one’s for y’all!” you exclaimed, shooting finger guns towards the camera.

“And you’re album is dropping tonight right?”

“Exactly at midnight! I hope everyone can listen to it. I know it’s my favorite and most intimate album to date, and I hope everyone enjoys it to!”

“Well that looks like all the time we have with Somni tonight, folks. Check out her new album, ‘Monochrome,’ dropping tonight at midnight!”

You were back in your New York City penthouse, finally away from the hustle and bustle that came with album promotions. A small sigh escapes past your lips as you submerged yourself into the warm, bubbly bath water. You rested your head against the tub and looked up at the ceiling, finding yourself slipping away into your memories.

“What do you think about this chord, songbird?” Chan asked, strumming a jumbled mess of notes on his guitar. He got a scrunched up nose and a ball of sheet music thrown at his face as an answer. “Just teasing you,” he pouted, scooting over on the couch to look over your shoulder.

“I know you are, but I’m trying to focus right now,” you grumbled, pushing your glasses back up your nose and scrunching your eyebrows together. Your pencil was still flying across the page, putting down notes and rests and lyrics.

“Why don’t you take a break,” he asked sweetly, “focus on,” he leaned his head down to nip at the sensitive skin on your neck, “something else?” You stilled your hand for a split second, and Chan thought he had finally broken through, but you just shrugged him off and went straight back to work.

“This is my first album after debuting, Chan. I can’t just put it off. I need to come back with good music,” you sighed. He looked on worriedly as you ran your fingers through your hair once again and let out another huff of air.

��Songbird.” His hands found themselves on your waist, and he hoisted you onto his lap. You didn’t struggle and leaned back into his arms. “Sometimes you just,” he pressed feather-light kisses against your neck after each word, “need a little distraction,” once he found your sweet spot, you knew you were gone, “or some inspiration,” you let out a soft groan when he lightly bit down on your flesh, “like how well I’m going to-”

BRRRING! BBBRRRIING!

“Sorry, babe,” you mumbled, leaning down to scoop your phone off the floor. “Let me take this, and I promise you we’ll get back to where we left off.” Chan just waved you off, but you had missed how his eyes trailed after your retreating frame lovingly. If only you had seen that.

You knew you were over your past relationships. Each one ended, relatively resolved, and tucked away in your memory box. You and Han ended things after six months due to busy schedules. Hyunjin was dropped after 4 months when you realized you needed someone to fulfill a deeper, emotional need. Felix disappeared from the scene a year into your relationship, and you just assumed it was over when he stopped replying to your texts. And Chan — your eyebrows furrowed at the thought of him.

You could never really pinpoint where things went wrong with him. It was a flurry of you falling too fast for someone who never really reciprocated back and diving right in when he proposed to you 2 years into the relationship. A wry smile graced your lips when you recalled the realization that had dawned on you two months into the engagement. “He never said ‘I love you’ sober,” you mused as you continued to soak in the bath. You knew that he was tucked in a box just like the other boys, but a small voice in the back of your head continued to pull at the ribbon that kept his box shut.

“Somni, you are absolutely stunning tonight!” the interviewer gushed as she gestured towards your fitted maroon suit jacket and tight cream pants outfit.

“Why thank you so much!” you beamed.

“I must say, this is probably a huge night for you,” she said, “How does it feel to be one of the main focuses of the night?”

“Well, I don’t know about ‘main focuses,’ but I am so excited to perform tonight and reveal the music video for the new single, ‘Without You!’”

“Speaking of ‘Without You,’ it is easily my favorite song from ‘Monochrome!’”

“Stop! You’re just being polite,” you teased.

“No! I seriously love how raw you sounded in the song. I honestly felt the pain in your voice,” she said. “Plus, it was quite fun trying to figure out which of the exes this one was about.” She gave you an over exaggerated wink, and you couldn’t help but laugh at the situation.

“Well, I hope you don’t expect me to tell you who,” you retorted, “It was lovely talking to you!”

After you bid her goodbye, you continued walking down the red carpet, stopping every now and then to pose for the camera and wave towards your fans. You also stopped every now and then to talk to some other artists and congratulate them for their nominations. In the midst of your conversation with Jaime, a deafening cheer from the hoard of fangirls came crashing into your ears. You looked behind you and saw SKZ getting out of their limo and beginning to walk down the red carpet. It was a blatant understatement to say Chan looked good. Even after accepting your failed relationship as it is, you were still capable of addressing that the guy looked fine. You dared not to stare for too long, since there were cameras everywhere focused on you, but you took a mental snapshot of Chan with his, newly dyed, blond hair swept up to reveal his forehead, adorned with a leather jacket thrown over a, teasingly, tight white button up and torn black skinnies, and the trademark devil may care attitude that seemed to wash off of him in waves.  A flash of light followed by a click pulled you out of your trance, and you refocused your attention back on Jaime. “Where did we leave off?” you asked sweetly, planting back on your trademarked smile.

The stage lights were pulsing, and the roar of the crowd became almost deafening around you. It had been a long night of dancing, singing along to the performers on stage, and afflicting yourself to pain whenever you had to trek onto the stage in your heels to present or accept an award. The camera seemed to love you as it continued to film you and Jaime as the two of you bounced up and down, both of you ditching your heels at that point, to the artists on stage and lip-syncing like your lives depended on it. However, you noticed the camera lingering on you longer than usual, and you sent the cameraman a playful quirk of the eyebrow. That was when Jaime pointed towards the main stage.

“SKZ is about to perform,” she explained, keeping a hand on your arm comfortingly.

“Awesome! I heard they’re performing a never heard before single,” you said back, trying to keep your expression upbeat for the camera.

The brief break ended, and all cameras trained their focus onto the side stage where the host stood. “Revealing a brand new single for the first time, here are the heartthrobs of SKZ with ‘Moving Along!’” they exclaimed.

Chan began to strum a steady rhythm, and a lump formed in your throat when you noticed the songbird sticker still stuck to the bright, red body of his guitar. The song was definitely more chill compared to their older, “edgier” releases, but you liked the lazy feel of the bass, the driving force of the rhythmic guitar, and the lax attitude the guys took on as they sang into the mics.

Been thinking bout you lots lately / Have you been feeling empty beds just like me?

I’ve been thinking bout you lots, lately / Or are you moving along?

You couldn’t help but chant along to the chorus, ignoring the weird feeling you got from the lyrics.

Is it wrong if I ask you to come over? / Is it wrong if I told you that I love ya?

Even though I never do it when I’m sober / Is it wrong? So wrong

That lyric struck a chord in you, but you continued to plaster on your smile and dance along to the song, keeping up a show for the camera. “If I wrote a break-up song, I guess he can too,” you mused.

The neon lights flashed to the bass that vibrated throughout the entire nightclub. You found yourself retreated to one of the side booths, scrolling on your phone to look at all the feedback you got back for the “Without Me” music video. It was amusing to see the internet freak out over, but you couldn’t help but feel disappointed at the lack of commentary on the music video’s aesthetic, which you had painstakingly curated, instead the buzz seemed to be around who the music video alluded to. Was the song about Chan? Definitely. You wrote it shortly after your split with him, and it sat in your drafts for a good year before your management pulled it out, dusted it off, and polished it up to be the second single for “Monochrome.” Was the purpose of the song to demonize Chan? Hell no. It was just to help you heal, help you get over such a harsh fall from cloud 9. You disappeared from the music scene for a good year to recuperate because being with him was like a firework. It built up and heated up and kept you enthralled, but it ended so quickly and left messes behind. It just happened to be that you were the mess that was left behind.

“Where were you?” you asked, too tired to put any emotion in your words anymore.

Chan looked at your sitting frame on the couch in shock. Well, as much shock as a drunk man could muster. “What’re you doing still up?” he slurred.

“Where. Were. You?”

“Out with the guys. Celebrating the new album’s release, the usual.” Chan’s brows furrowed. The tone of your voice took a complete 180 from what he was used to. “What’s wrong, songbird?” He walked up to you to try and get some shred of the usual warmth you emitted, but he was abruptly stopped when you stood up and held up a hand in between the two of you.

“You don’t get to call me that anymore.” You had no clue where your iciness came from, but it wasn’t hard to assume it accumulated over the past two months of your engagement. The past two months where you were planning the wedding alone in your apartment’s kitchen with the company of a glass of wine while Chan is out every night getting shit-faced with who knows who?

“Hey, what’s wrong? Talk to me,” he pleaded, trailing behind you to the shared bedroom. You replied with silence, keeping your pace steady and your face still. You knew if you spoke, your voice would’ve wavered. “Y/N?”

God, he sounded so broken and confused. It took your all not to spin around and wrap your arms around him like everything was okay. But it had been months of his lack of attention, affection (unless he was absolutely desperate), and affirmation. Your revelation had been when you were sitting on the living room floor, writing a song about him as a surprise present for him during the wedding. However, in your fit of brainstorming, it came to your realization he hasn’t told you he loved you since the engagement. He hasn’t sat down with you and helped with the planning. He hasn’t been home most nights to hold you in his arms at night. The sudden distant behaviour led you to thinking: maybe he didn’t want this at all. Maybe he didn’t want you at all.

You were in the bedroom now, and you grabbed the giant duffel bag you had packed earlier and spun around to leave as quickly as you could.

“You’re leaving me?” he asked, “Why are you leaving?” You pushed past him without a word, but he grabbed your arm and spun you around to face him. “Y/N, talk to me.”

“Let me go, Chan.” God, you were too tired to drag this out any longer.

“Not until you tell me what the hell is going on!” Chan spat back.

“I’m leaving you! That’s what’s ‘going on!’ I’m finally doing what’s right for me and leaving your sorry ass behind!” you screamed.

“What the hell did I do?” He was getting angrier now. “I just got home, and you’re already being a pissy little bitch!”

Your glare hardened at his last word. “Really now? You’re calling me a ‘bitch?’ Maybe I have a reason to be one,” you got right up into his face, “considering you’ve been an awful fiance for the past two months! You haven’t helped with any of the planning! You have barely been home at all lately! And we haven’t had a proper conversation in ages! I’m so tired of being strung along and left out to dry!”

“Maybe if you weren’t nagging me all the damn time, I’d stay home! Don’t you know how annoying it gets when I get home from the studio and the first thing I hear is your fucking voice telling me to pick out a goddamn flower arrangement?” he seethed, “If I knew you were this annoying, I would’ve never proposed.”

You had kept your indignant stare trained on his face the entire time, but at that last sentence you tore your gaze away and pulled your arm out of his grasp. “Would’ve never proposed, huh?” you parroted humorlessly, trying to smother down the lump forming in your throat and the tears swelling in your eyes. “Yeah, I wish you never did too.” You turned away to hide the tears slowly streaming down your cheeks and just started walking away.

“Wait, Y/N, songbird, I didn’t mean that,” Chan said, following after you, “You know that I love you.”

You spun around quickly and sent him a spurned look. “Do I? When was the last time you told me you loved me? When was the last time you held me? When was the last time you helped me? You don’t love me. You probably,” you choked up, “never did.”

“No, Y/N, I swear, I swear to God, I love you. I promise you I’ll be better,” he begged.

“Can you tell me that tomorrow when you’re sober?” you asked wryly. Chan just looked at you pleadingly, practically begging you to stay. “I’m done being another body that keeps you warm at night. Goodbye, Chan.” And just like that, you were out of his life.

You blinked back the tears that crept up and began putting back on your “Somni” mask, smiling brightly and cheerfully at everyone. Jaime and some of your other artist friends were lost to the beat, dancing away the night in the middle of the room. You were a solid two steps away from joining them before halting when you made eye contact with Chan. He was still dressed in that ridiculously fitted white button-up, and his hair had become messier, with strands falling down to grace his face. He was dancing with some girl; his hands on her waist as she kept her back firmly pressed against his chest, but his eyes were trained on you. If it was past-you in present-you’s position, you would’ve probably ran out of the room trying not to let tears spring from your eyes. But this is present-you, the one who spent a year healing and coming out of the wreckage stronger. You gave him a brief smile before turning away and walking towards the exit. “I think I’m done for the night,” you thought to yourself, “That’s enough excitement for a day.”

Chan woke up again to a cold bed. He groggily turned onto his side and glared at the bright red numbers that told him he was, once again, late to a meeting with management. “Great,” he said, falling back onto his back, “I couldn’t get any last night. I ran into my ex. And now I’m fucking late to a meeting.” The day hasn’t even started yet, and it’s already the worst day of his life. He grumbled and groaned some more before getting out of bed and stumbling to the drawer to find a clean shirt and pair of jeans. “When the fuck were you so soft, Chan?” he asked himself while digging around for socks. He would’ve usually never be affected like shit like this, but ever since you released that song he hasn’t been able to think of anyone but you. Every single girl he tried to bring back to his place ended in absolutely nothing because you keep plaguing his mind. Every single radio station he goes to ends up playing your song. And now his band’s highest selling single is the song he wrote about you. It was like he could never escape, and he was so fucking tired of it.

“Glad you could join us, Chan,” his manager said sarcastically.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, “long night.” His bandmates looked at him sympathetically; almost everyone could tell Somni’s latest album was affecting him more than he’d want to let on.

“Anyways, we’ve generated such a good buzz around the upcoming album with all this ‘ex-lovers’ gossip, the company thought it’d be good to accept an offer for a special interview on Amber’s talk show,” the manager started cautiously.

“What kind of interview?” Chan asked.

“With you and Somni.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Chan seethed. “We’re ancient history! The public wouldn’t have cared this much if she didn’t release that stupid song and name-drop me.”

“But they care now, and bottom line, everyone knows you wrote ‘Moving Along’ about her. Do this interview and you boys are projected to break the Top 10 of album sales for 2018.”

“So we’re exploiting me for album sales?” Chan sneered.

“You signed up for this life, rock star. Don’t tell me you’re backing down because of some girl? Thought the two of you were ancient history?”

Chan studied his manager hard before gruffly agreeing to the interview, “If it gets you off my case.”

“So this isn’t awkward at all right?” Amber asked midway through the interview. You politely waved off her worry even though you could practically cut the tension between you and Chan with a knife. “Awesome,” she exclaimed, “Now let’s get to the juicy stuff. How did the two of you meet? Considering both of you are so freaking famous, how did no one know about this relationship???”

“Simple,” Chan plastered on his “rock star” persona quickly, leaning into the leather couch and easily placing his arm behind your head, “We figured out how to avoid the press after all of our years in the spotlight. Plus, it wasn’t hard for me to approach her; she was this bright-eyed, newly debuted pop princess completely left alone at an after party bar. I figured I might as well grace her with my company and from there it’s history.”

If he can put on his persona, I can too.

“If I remember correctly, I told you to buzz off when you offered to buy me a drink,” you said with a quirked eyebrow. The audience ooh’d at that, completely drinking up your newfound HBIC attitude.

“Looks like our pop princess is gone,” Amber joked, riling up the audience a bit more.

“But then you took a complete 180 when you ran into me tipsy into the alleyway outside the club,” Chan retorted, a playful smirk gracing his features.

Before you could stop yourself, you softly smiled at the memory and agreed. Chan was 100% taken aback by your change in demeanor. The queen-esque Somni facade was replaced by the Y/N he remembered waking up to every morning. If he wasn’t on camera right now, he would’ve definitely melted.

The moment was interrupted by Amber. “Wait, what happened? Y’all can’t leave us hanging like that!”

The soft expression left your face as quickly as it came and you settled back into your camera-self. “You know I don’t kiss and tell, Ambs,” you teased, “And I hope Chan here knows better and doesn’t either!” The audience laughed at your jest.

“Fine, but you can’t spend this entire time not giving us anything!”

“I can’t believe you told them the kitten story!” Chan exclaimed as the two of you lounged in the break room.

“What? They wanted some sort of tea, so I gave them an adorable story about the time you tried to ‘save’ a ‘stray,’ and it turned out you catnapped our neighbour’s cat!” You broke out into giggles at the memory of it all. All the tension between the two of you eased away somehow throughout the interview, and here you were now, sitting on the break room couch waiting for your ride while sharing memories with your ex-fiance.

“Okay, how was I supposed to know Benjamin already had an owner? He didn’t have a collar on him!”

“You can’t call the kitten Benjamin, Chan. It’s name was Spot, and we ran into it every day when Mr. Jameson went outside to collect the mail with the kitten trailing behind him.”

“Fine! I admit I just wanted a pet,” he said with a pout. Laughter fills the air, and it seemed like the clock had been turned back, like it was you and Chan on your couch at 3am sharing stories with each other. A comfortable silence falls upon the two of you.

“Do you miss this sometimes?” he asked out of the blue. You were taken aback by how serious he sounded.

“Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I miss this.” He said it so nonchalantly that you almost missed it.

“Why would you?” you teased, trying to lighten up the mood.

“Because I love you.”

You didn’t know how to process that confession. You didn’t know how to respond to that confession. Hell, you didn’t even know he had it in him to drop that confession. You awkwardly chuckled, trying to diffuse the sudden surge of emotions running in your mind, “C’mon, you never really loved me, Chan. It’s all the media stuff getting to your head.” You tried waving it off while also trying to ward off the sudden heat rising to your cheeks.

“No, Y/N, I do love you. I loved you then, and I was an asshat for never telling you. But I was an idiot then who had no idea what love was. I hopped from girl to girl every single night until I met you. I dropped on one knee so fast and you said yes, and that’s when I realized that I was in no way shape or form good enough for you, and instead of facing it and trying to become better for you, I ran away and drove away the best goddamn thing that has ever happened to me. And I’m so fucking sorry for what my drunkass self said to you that night because it never said what I really wanted to say, ‘Stay. I’m sorry. I love you. Forgive me.’’

The air was getting heavier and you found it getting difficult to breath.

“But I swear, Y/N, on my heart, on my guitar, on my band, I love you, and I’m so sorry for not being the man you deserved.”

And that was when the dam opened. You just started bawling. It was like every single ounce of pain and sadness you bottled up after that break up, every ounce you poured into your music so you could pretend to be strong and move on, came rushing out. In your tears, you didn’t notice when Chan wrapped his arms around you. Taken over by muscle memory, you burrowed your face into his chest and wrapped your arms around his torso. He ran his fingers through your hair and rubbed your back reassuringly.

“It’s okay, Y/N. I’m sorry for always making you cry, but I’ll be here for you now. I swear.”

Even then, with him comforting you and speaking so genuinely to you, you didn’t know what to make of the situation. Should you shut this down now or risk crushing your heart again just to give him a second chance? Chan took notice of your sudden stillness.

“Y/N? You alright?” He pulled himself away from you to study your face. “Y/N?”

“Chan,” you whispered, “I-” With a surge of stupid impulse, you grabbed Chan by the shirt and pulled him towards you, pressing your lips harshly against his. Like many times before, Chan’s hands find themselves gripping onto your waist before pulling you onto his lap. All caution was thrown to the wind when your fingers found their way into his hair, tugging at the strand slightly whenever you found him pulling back. “Babe, give me more,” you mumbled, pressing yourself even closer to him.

“Wait, Y/N, maybe we should-”

“Please, Chan? Please?” you begged, peppering kissing down his neck, “Just this once?”

At the sound of your whine, Chan flips you onto the couch, so he’s hovering above you. “Who said anything about ‘once?’”

asjdfkl so yeah, thoughts on a part 2??????? I kinda wanted to flesh out more of their backstory and maybe see what happens next?? and kinda wanted to delve in further into the other exes but then i realized it would’ve been wayyyyyyy too much and i apologize for all the freakishly long fics i write OTL also lmk if you know what skz in this fic sings bc yall a real one if yall do !!!

[geollejimin]

Kookmin Headcanon #6

Jungkook isn't ever sure if it's a blessing or a burden that he can tell down to the second when Jimin is about to spiral in to self-loathing. 

He recognizes the signs with ease, and it's also with alarming calmness that he pulls Jimin back from that brink every time -- as if it's almost just another daily responsibility, like brushing his teeth or doing laundry. He always frames it in a way that makes Jimin think it was his idea, it was his strength and resolve that brought himself back down to earth, and Jungkook is content with that. If that helps Jimin live another day relatively worry free in the already busy world they live, what's the point in hogging all the glory? It's for Jimin, after all. He can forgo the praise every now and then. 

For Jimin. But tensions were high -- promotions on the horizon and the looming anxiety of constantly being in the spotlight non-stop for a few weeks.  It was an unspoken rule that everyone did everything within their power to look their best. It wasn't an odd sight to see Namjoon walking around in a face mask the minimum three times a week, something he never really committed to doing any other time of the year. Jin agonizingly washed his sheets every night to keep his skin the clearest possible (where did he get the time?). Jungkook himself put in extra hours at the gym out of habit. He didn't even actively think about doing it anymore before a comeback, he was on autopilot. Everyone seemed to have a dedicated, yet realistic, game plan to prepare for the cameras in the coming months. Except, of course, Jimin. There were the aspects of Jimin's obsessive personality that he could prepare for after years of practice. They were the physical ones -- the eating habits (or lack thereof), the late hours practicing until his feet were blistered -- Jungkook had those down pat. He was nothing if not a professional at being annoyingly persistent, in a sneaky way. At meals, Jungkook watches Jimin push food around his plate out of the corner of his eye, talking excitedly and animatedly about something topical so no one would suspect anything else was afoot. In this way, Jimin is a master manipulator, and far too clever for his own good. But Jungkook is too -- Jimin falls victim to pettiness far too easily, and all it takes is Jungkook nonchalantly picking the best bits from Jimin's plate every couple minutes for Jimin to pull it out of his reach and tell him to knock it off. "You're not eating it anyways," Jungkook points out, feigning innocence as he makes another grab for something delicious looking. "Just because I don't inhale my food like air like you do doesn't mean I'm not getting to it," would come the biting reply. And ten minutes later the plate is clean, and Jungkook can deal with Jimin's sour mood knowing he's accomplished something. The long hours of practice requires more persistence and more of a back bone. The others members would drop out of the practice room one by one, turning in for the night and saying they'd put in more hours tomorrow. Jungkook, exhausted after half of them had already left, envies them -- but Jimin isn't even close to calling it a night, and if Jungkook didn't stay, he's positive they'd be peeling Jimin off the floor of the practice room the next morning, asleep and feet in a terrible state. So, he stays. Every angrily restarted routine, every minor tantrum when something isn't just right. He doesn't say anything to quell Jimin's obvious irritation. Years of experience has told him that there isn't anything that he can say that Jimin will take deeper than face value anyways, so he bides his time. He practices alongside with him even through his exhaustion, but doesn't scold Jimin about the late hour. If it's important to Jimin, he wants him to know it's important to him too. When the time comes and Jungkook pretends to badly roll his ankle during a particular step, he is always half-expecting Jimin to get irritated with him and tell him to go home if he's going to be an obvious hindrance. But of course he doesn't. Jimin hears Jungkook's over-exaggerated hiss of pain and he whips his head around, the music fading in to the background around his instinctual worry. "What happened?" He asks quickly, a hand on Jungkook's lower back, every ounce of irritation in his demeanor evaporated. "Did you hurt your foot?" "It's nothing, just stepped on it weird." Jungkook has never considered himself an award-worthy actor, but even he can't deny that when he puts weight on his now "bum" foot and his barely-there yet telling grimace gets Jimin's eyes wide with concern, he's got at least a little bit of natural born talent somewhere in him. "You need to go home and rest," Jimin says. Jungkook just shakes his head. "I'll stay, I want to practice hard for the comeback, too." "You can't practice through the pain, that's not healthy." Jungkook shakes his head once, firmly. "If you can, then I can too." Jimin goes silent, and it's in that moment of clear realization on his face that Jungkook knows he's won. When they're in the car on the way back to the dorms not ten minutes later, Jungkook is on beside himself with internal self-congratulations. Half elated because his clever plan worked perfectly for the third time that week, and half on cloud nine as Jimin absentmindedly rubs and works his very much normal and uninjured ankle. But those were the physical ones. They were easy. Jungkook excelled in the realm of the physical, he was a very tangible kind of guy. Disputes, love... it all could be settled with physicality, touch, contact; it's how it always had been for him. Unfortunately, Jimin existed seemingly entirely within the realm of the emotional, which might as well have been on top of Mount Everest during a blizzard as far as Jungkook was concerned. His psyche was guarded heavily, and penetrating it was something Jungkook had yet to accomplish. He couldn't fight off the feelings of inadequacy that plagued Jimin, couldn't drag them out back and intimidate them in to leaving Jimin alone. The way Jungkook had always dealt with -- or not dealt with -- emotions wasn't how Jimin processed his own, and it bothered Jungkook that he couldn't make anything any better. What use was he to Jimin if he couldn't even make him feel good enough? And it was times like these that were the worst. Here, in this green room after a performance. Jimin in his costume, each piece of it designer and exceedingly expensive. In one hand, the glittering trophy from that day's win. In the other, his phone with which he had just tweeted a picture of himself, trophy held close to his shining smile, to their fans all over the world, thanking them for making it all possible. Not a hair out of place, his makeup accentuating his best features, his pristine and perfect milky skin. And yet... Everyone around them was exhausted, either sleeping in whatever corner they could claim or snacking and chatting away tiredly. The sea of people made the two of them fade in to obscurity, hard to be noticed. But Jungkook was watching Jimin, and Jimin was watching himself. Jimin stood in front of one of the long mirrors in the green room, the day's spoils grasped tightly in his hands, but a darkness had crossed him. His stare seemed distant and cold as he analyzed himself in his reflection, unblinking, a direct juxtaposition to the buzz of tired excitement around him. His gaze seemed to judge silently, himself on trial for every small imperfection and mistake he could find. He was the judge, the jury, and the giddy executioner. The sight would have been alarming and uncomfortable to anyone who noticed it -- but Jimin had somehow convinced himself that in a crowd of people he faded in to the background every time. Even with his fiery neon hair, his bright skin and listless, hooded eyes, his full features and rhythmic way of moving, he thought there was nothing that set him apart from everyone else, nothing memorable about him at all. Jimin believed if he was alone in a room, it was empty. Jungkook watched him for what felt like too many minutes, disbelief overcoming him alongside waves of agitation. How could no one else see what he was seeing? He could chalk it up to exhaustion, to ingrained casualness that made everyone numb to the barely noticeable signs of something not being right with the others. But this was the Jimin that Jungkook couldn't decipher. The one who had almost everything and still felt as though it was going to be yanked away from him as soon as the world who adored him now had grown tired of him. The one who thought he didn't deserve any attention until he had become pretty, not realizing that someone had been attached to his side for years before the awards, the recognition, the brand. The one who seemed to find fault in every aspect of himself where Jungkook only found something new to study and memorize. The one who thought that in a crowd of adoring fans, no one was ever looking solely at him, when in reality it was never anyone in the crowd who couldn't peel his gaze away. What was Jimin still yearning for? And how could Jungkook make sure he got it in abundance? Jungkook could agonize over the why's and how's, like he always did around promotions when this behavior was at its peak. He could obsess over how to pull Jimin out of this spiral and continue to never actually do anything about it. He may not be able to connect with Jimin on his level, may not ever understand the convoluted and complex inner workings of Jimin's self-loathing, but Jungkook could still fix things the best way he knew how, the one way he always excelled at anything he put his mind to. Someone on the opposite side of the green room called Jimin's name, jolting him out of his trance. He blinked once, twice, and by the time he had done a 180 and was floating towards the assistant calling him to change, his facade had changed to one of unbothered content, one that would seem genuine to anyone except those who bothered to look further. As he passed Jungkook their eyes met for a brief fleeting split-second, and he could tell that Jimin knew he had been caught, but Jimin continued on with an astonishingly good poker face. Jungkook lowered his eyes back to his phone, his resolve steeled. If Jungkook existed solely within the realm of the physical, then he'd settle this the way he'd resolved every conflict in his life until this point: Physically. And with no holds barred. *** "Hobi-hyung, the food is getting cold. Where is Jimin-hyung?" Hoseok looked up from his plate and nodded his head in the direction of the room he shared with Jimin without hesitation. "Same place he's been all night." "He hasn't come out yet? At all?" "Your guess is as good as mine." "I went in there earlier," Taehyung said from the couch, his plate resting precariously on one lifted knee. "He wouldn't talk to me. It was like trying to communicate with a brick wall." "You all should just leave him alone," Yoongi offered quietly from the kitchen table where he sat alone. "He will talk when he's ready, you know how he is when he gets upset." Jungkook wasn't convinced. He wiped his chin with the back of his hand as he stared at the closed door to Hoseok and Jimin's room. "Jungkook-ah, if you go in there and try to make him talk when he doesn't want to, he's only going to withdraw more," Namjoon continued in Yoongi's place. There was a long pause, the five of them watching Jungkook watching the door, all with the same thick tension. "You can't fix everyone," Jin added, quiet. "I don't need to fix everyone." "You know exactly what I meant," Jin replied irritably, glaring holes in to the back of Jungkook's head. "There's literally no need to be so dramatic." "He doesn't want to talk," Namjoon said from beside him as he swallowed a mouthful of food. "I'm begging you, Jungkook-ah, for the sake of his mental well-being and your own, don't force him to." Jungkook should listen to his leader, he knew that, but that still didn't really stop him from already being on his feet and stalking towards the door, picking up Jimin's untouched plate along the way, before Namjoon even finished his sentence. "Or, you know, do," he could hear the exasperated voice behind him. "Everything I say is only a suggestion at best anyways." Jungkook stood at the door for only a few milliseconds before turning the handle and letting himself in. He didn't bother knocking to announce himself; what was the point if wasn't going to get a response anyways? Jungkook always lived by one motto: do first, ask permission second. Jimin was curled up against the wall on his bed, surrounded by waves of blankets that didn't cover any inch of him, leaving him exposed to the cold temperature Jin insisted on keeping the dorm's thermostat at. He didn't look up at Jungkook when he entered, didn't say anything or acknowledge his presence at all, but Jungkook could tell he was awake. And if he was awake, he was listening. "Hyung?" No answer. "I brought you food. It's cold, but you should eat something." Again no answer, but Jungkook wasn't really looking for one anyway. He gingerly placed the plate on the nightstand by Jimin's bed, next to the journal Jungkook had given him for his birthday the year before, written in twice before it was forgotten. He was surprised Jimin still insisted on keeping it close even though he never used it. The bed dipped as Jungkook sunk down on it, close enough that his thigh brushed Jimin's lower back. Jimin still didn't move. "Hyung, don't you want to talk about it?" "Go away." "No one is mad at you, you know." "Go away." "You're allowed to have off days--" "Jungkook!" Jimin whipped his head around and his small, balled fist landed directly on Jungkook's chest, giving him a firm shove. "I said leave!" Jimin might as well have been blowing smoke on Jungkook for as much effectiveness as his shoved were. When Jungkook didn't even budge, it angered Jimin further, and soon both his hands were pushing with all their muster against Jungkook's solid chest. As his desperation grew in to franticness in trying to get the other to move, Jungkook just stared down at him, silent. He didn't put up a fight, but he also didn't back down. Eventually, as was always the case, Jimin tired himself in to a stupor soon enough, and he collapsed face first in to his pillow with an annoyed huff. His fingers were still fisted in Jungkook's shirt and he didn't make any attempt to remove them. Jungkook knew he needed to let Jimin say his piece first, it was the only way he could coax Jimin out of his heavily-guarded shell. He didn't make a move to touch him, he simply stayed silent and still, watching Jimin back rise with his exhausted breaths. Finally, he spoke. His voice muffled from the pillow smothering him. "I'm humiliated." "For being sick?" He hugged his pillow around his head tighter. "During practice! I fainted in the middle of practice and even though I was fine, I was still sent home! Don't you know how embarrassing it is to be sent home like a child?" He seemed to sink further in to the mattress. "I let you guys down." "You didn't let anyone down." Jimin replied with something biting, but it was far too muffled by the pillow to make out, and Jungkook didn't want to ask for a repeat. "You didn't let me down, hyung," he whispered after a long moment. He expected Jimin to continue to prolong the silence between them, ignore him completely, start throwing fists at him in vain again -- but Jimin just turned a small potion of his face away from the pillow he was still buried in, looking at him with one eye clouded with some sort of expression Jungkook couldn't place. It almost seemed as if Jimin was looking for some sort of confirmation that he was lying. "That's easy for you to say," he finally replied. Jungkook's stare turned quizzical. "What is that supposed to mean?" "Every fucking thing you touch turns to gold." Jungkook could feel the blood rising with heat in his veins. "I have no idea what you're talking about, and neither do you." Jimin shot up angrily from where he laid on the pillow, his livid face inches away from Jungkook's, challenging. "Have you ever even let down anyone in your stupid life?" "Yeah, I have." "Oh really? Who?" "You." Jimin only pulled back a fraction of an inch, his eyes only widened for a hair of a second, but it was enough for Jungkook to see the surprise on his face at Jungkook's no-hesitation response before he hardened again and sneered, "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Jungkook threw his hand up in exasperation. "What do you think?" Jimin made to move off the bed around him. If Jungkook wouldn't leave, he'd do it himself. "I don't have to listen to this nonsense." He didn't make it but a few inches before one of Jungkook's long and muscled arms wound itself around Jimin and practically threw him back to where he had been sitting on the bed a few seconds prior. He bounced as he hits the mattress, shock evident on his face at the blatant manhandling. "Well you're going to listen anyway."

(to be continued)

[courtneyrobinson97]

IXD301

Promotional Strategy

Choosing Your Social Media Strategies

Not every social media goal is going to be for everyone. Depending on where your company’s social media progress is at, you are going to need to have different goals – and different strategies – to achieve what you want.

These manageable social media strategies have been adapted from David L. Rogers’ book, The Network is Your Customer. As you read them, keep in mind which strategy will best benefit your company’s current goals and objectives.

Network Strategy

To establish your social media goals, you must first make sure that you are appealing to and reaching the right customer network. This strategy is especially important for companies that are branching out into social media for the first time, or who want to start over from scratch.

a. Reach the right people. Make sure you are reaching who you need to be reaching. Know who your audience is – are they consumers? Investors? Business customers? Business partners? Donors? Volunteers? Music fans? Voters? Who else might they be? You can use tools like Facebook Ads manager to estimate the size of your audience, and see if and where there’s room for you to expand your audience.

b. Be on the right platform. There are lots of social media platforms out there. Are you where your people are? Based on the people who you are trying to appeal to, would your brand do better on Instagram or LinkedIn? If you need help with this or aren’t sure, send your customers a survey asking them what social media sites they most use, what websites they visit for information, what blogs or podcasts they enjoy, and what influencers they pay attention to online. Don’t forget that you can always research social media demographics.

c. Use the right people. Have you liberated your network strategy from the “social media interns” in your public relations department? Are you embracing customer networks in every division of your business: market research, product development, marketing, sales, customer support, human resources, and more? Are you using networks to collaborate across divisions? Make sure that your social media is owned by more than one department.

d. Watch the competition. Keep an eye on the competition to learn what works and what doesn’t. Pick 3-4 competitors and research them. What platforms are they on? What are their interactions with customers like? What can you do better?

Access Strategy

In order to meet your goals, your company has to be accessible. This social media strategy will help you make your company accessible to consumers, and works well for companies who are just warming up to social media marketing.

a. Make sure you’re findable. Customers need to be able to easily find you and incorporate you into their digital lives. Make sure your social media is easily findable via Google, social media search bars, and on your website.

b. Be flexible. Offer services and content on the customer’s schedule, not just when you feel like it. Make sure that customers can reach you via many channels (your social media approach needs to be part of an omni-channel or channel-less approach).

c. Be fast. Whether it’s your shipping time or your response time, consumers expect fast service!

d. Keep it simple. Keep your social media strategy simple and eliminate hoops your customers should jump through. Are your customers reaching you on Facebook? Then don’t ask them to create a Twitter account just so you can direct message them on Twitter instead (yes, this actually happens).

Connect Strategy

None of your goals would be possible without connection. These connection strategies will help you reach your customers and forge a real connection with them.

a. Listen to what your customers are saying. Use tools to track your buzz online, and know what is being said about your brand, competitors, and your business category. Follow and learn from the conversations that your current and potential customers are having.

b. Be where your customers are. Can customers find you to ask a question or report a problem? Can they “Like” you to express support for your brand?

c. Join the Conversation. Respond to issues, answer questions, and make friends by joining the give-and-take of online conversations.

d. Be productive and helpful. Respond quickly to concerns being voiced. Do your customers know they can turn to you for help? Are you creating positive buzz by showing you are helpful?

e. Provide a forum. Create new places for your customers to express their views and connect with each other around shared interests.

f. Let conversations add a layer of value. Make the conversations among your customers an added source of value for your business.

Collaborate Strategy

Social media was created to bridge gaps. It has brought people together from all distances, to exchange ideas and to collaborate (think, for example, about how GoFundMe has shown the power of collaboration on social media). Establishing a strategy for collaboration is necessary for even the most social media savvy businesses.

a. Invite customers to work together. Give them tools and tasks that they can accomplish by working together and with your company. For example, the company Threadless did this by asking their customer to submit T-Shirts designs to them as part of a contest. This saved Threadless design costs, while also giving customers an active interest in the product (and a reason to promote and buy the shirts they designed themselves!).

b. Ask for help on questions you can’t answer yourself. Pose big business questions to your customers! Solicit ideas from customers to tap into the wisdom of the crowd and show that you care about what they think. Be open to ideas coming from outside the organisation and willing to reward them. For example, Ben and Jerry’s did this by asking their customers to vote to bring back their favourite discontinued ice cream flavour.

c. Integrate their voice in yours. Bring customers’ stories into your own content and marketing. Customer stories highlight your company’s purpose – they’re free, always available, and are such a core part of our human DNA that they automatically make us feel good, especially when they’re true.

Achieving Your Social Media Goals

Once you have an idea of which strategies are right for your team, it’s time to apply them towards achieving your social media goals.

Here are some common social media goals, and how you can use strategies and metrics to accomplish them.

1. Connect with Customers

Let’s face it – you came to social media first and foremost to be where your customers are. But how specifically do you connect with your customers?

Sometimes your customers will connect with your brand without you having to even do anything. Your dedicated fans might seek-out your page, Tweet at you, or even create fan pages for your organisation. Such as was the case for Coca Cola, when a fan-made page reached the number two spot on Facebook in 2008. Customers and fans of Coke from all over the world gathered on the page to connect via their love for the product.

Rather than bank on your customers finding you, you can be the one to reach out and connect with them. One way that you can do this is by posting content that users that are already in your network can connect with and relate to. Every “Like” that you get on Facebook moves you closer algorithmically to appearing in a new customer’s feed. You can also reach out to customers who are contacting you for assistance, and connect with them directly online.

Applicable Strategies: Network Strategy, Access Strategy, Connect Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

Follower count

Number of mentions/shares/retweets/customer posts on your page

Number of customer “Likes”

Frequency of your replies to customers

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Connect with customers on Twitter and Facebook by featuring a new customer of the week every Monday. Post a picture of the customer with a small blurb about them. The goal is to increase our mentions/shares/retweets/posts/likes by 5% in 3 months.

2. Increase Brand Awareness

Increasing brand awareness is an extremely common social media goal, and is all about expanding your circle of customers and potential buyers. Increasing brand awareness can also help your company recruit more qualified employees, connect with promising investors, donors, and more, by widening the range of people that know of and are drawn to your organisation.

A great way to increase brand awareness is by posting relevant, relatable, and useful content, that your followers can comment on and share. Another way is to pay for ads on social media. Over the years, paying for ads has become an increasingly necessary part of raising brand awareness on social media. This is due to the dramatic demise of organic reach. In other words, companies like Facebook, Instagram, and even Twitter have been curtailing the percentage of a Page’s followers that actually see a brand’s updates. In February of 2014, it was reported that for large brands, organic reach hit as little as 2% of their own followers. And that number has dwindled since.

According to a report from Gartner, “Sustained success in social marketing now requires paid advertising.” The same report found that 80% of surveyed executives planned on enacting paid social media advertisements within the next twelve months. Luckily, paid ads on social media look like normal feed content, and only have a small disclaimer showing that they are sponsored. Social media ads also have the benefit of reaching customers whose search histories make them ideal leads for your product. If you want to increase brand awareness, be sure to add paid advertising to your social media strategy.

Applicable Strategies: Network Strategy, Access Strategy, Connect Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

Follower count

Range of social media posts (how many people they are reaching per day/month/year)

Number of mentions/shares/retweets/customer posts on your page

Amount of customer “Likes”

Amount of link clicks per post

Website analytics for social media referrals

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Increase brand awareness of your Facebook by introducing paid advertising. Have new content reach 10,000 people per post by the end of the month.

3. Drive Traffic to Your Website

New website visitors often equal new customers. Driving traffic to your website is important for countless industries, such as e-commerce (once visitors click through to your website, they’ll find themselves browsing your product), health care (visitors can familiarise themselves with your full selection of care offerings and locations), the SaaS industry (by attracting users from your social media page and to your company blog, they can learn why they need your software), and many more.

Make sure that your website is easy to navigate and visitor-ready, and use this important social media goal to get your web traffic up. You can do this by posting links to relevant product pages, blog posts, and other website content that is likely to attract your visitors.

You can see using visitor tracking how your visitors reached you, and see how many have come from social media.

Applicable Strategies: Network Strategy, Access Strategy, Connect Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

Use your website’s visitor monitor tool and/or visitor segmentation to measure how much of your websites traffic comes from social media, how many visitors reached you that way, etc.

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Increase website traffic to 2,000 visitors per day by posting and promoting relevant blog posts three times per week to Facebook and Twitter accounts.

4. Generate Sales and Leads

If your company is on social media, chances are you’re aiming to get some sales and leads out of it. You can generate sales and leads through paid advertising and by producing interesting content, and posts (after all, what good does it do to pay for advertising if you are advertising dull content or undesirable products?). It’s important to remember to know who you are marketing to, and to make sure that your social media brand image and presence is both interesting and relevant to your audience, so that they have a reason to click through and buy!

Another great way to generate sales and leads is to provide exceptional customer support. Social media makes problem resolution a spectator sport. If your customers and potential customers see that you are on-point with your issue resolution, then they will know that they can purchase from you again in the future – or that they can buy from you for the first time – and your company will be there for them to meet their needs.

Applicable Strategies: Engage Strategy, Connect Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

Count of leads that you have gotten through Social Media (such as email addresses)

Amount of clicks that you have gotten on lead generating posts or links.

(Google Analytics has a good tool for mapping lead generation, just go to Acquisition>Social>Conversions).

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Increase Snapchat leads by 6% by December. Our target is 30,000 views per promotional video.

5. Boost Brand Engagement

Brand engagement is a huge part of social media. That’s because engaged customers are invested in you, and will come back to your page (and company for more!).

There are a lot of great ways to boost engagement, such as calling upon customer creativity, having contests (many brands call upon social media to comment on a post and/or share it for a chance to win something), and starting a friendly, open discussion that you invite your customers to participate in. All of these are great ways to take customers from the passive “Like” to actually engaging with your brand.

Applicable Strategies: Engage Strategy, Connect Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

Amount or frequency of mentions/shares/retweets/comments/customer posts to your page (how many people are interacting with your posts?)

Number of mentions and replies

Track engagement on social media sites, or with a social media management tool.

See what is being shared the most (so that way you can see what energising content works best!)

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Boost brand engagement on Instagram by 20% by the end of the month. We will do this by asking customers to comment on the post and tag a friend for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to our store.

6. Increase In-Person Sales

Depending on what your business is, sometimes a great social media goal is to increase sales in person, or visits to your store. This is especially true for location-specific services such as restaurants, pet salons, human salons, and more.

One great way social media strategy for increasing in-person purchases through social media is by giving people an incentive to check-in to your location, tag your place of business, or post user pictures from your place of business. After all, McKinsey research shows that social media recommendations are behind more than a quarter of all purchases made. Your business should bank on that, too!

Applicable Strategies: Access Strategy, Collaborate Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

Amount of people who have checked in to your location, tagged you in a post, etc.

How many advertising discounts were given

Amount of reviews posted on social media

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Increase in-person sales at our restaurant by providing a free California roll appetiser to customers who check in on Facebook, or tag us in a picture on Instagram. Increase in-store sales by 10% by the end of this quarter.

7. Build a Community

Building a community on social media is among the best ways to increase customer loyalty and retention. Having a community means having a place where customers can come together and share in their brand loyalty. It is very important for long term growth, and is how you cultivate life-long customers.

To build a community, your customers need to feel connected to your brand, and to others who also enjoy your brand. One great way to build a community is to have customers contribute to your brand in some way. This could be with original artwork (such as the artwork that brought together anime fans in the Wendy’s community), a content, or a community vote – something that makes your customers feel like they are a part of something bigger.

Applicable Strategies: Connect Strategy, Collaborate Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

Number of photos tagged of your brand

Amount of brand hashtags being used

How many stories and posts tag your company

Number of engagements per post (posts/likes/comments – how engaged is your community?)

Number of engagements per follower

(You can track these metrics with sites like Community Analytics, HashTracking, or manually.)

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Stimulate community growth and involvement by starting a new brand hashtag on Twitter. Get the new hashtag to have made as one of our country’s top trending hashtags by the end of the week.

8. Effective Social Customer Service

Social media isn’t only for marketing – it’s a great place for companies to answer their customers’ questions, receive customer feedback and provide support to customers. By making effective social customer service your social media goal, you are reinforcing your commitment to your customers, and ensuring that you keep a good reputation on this public support front.

To reach this goal, be sure to have fast, reliable social media support. Don’t keep your customers waiting, or ask them to switch service channels so that you can attend them. If you do need to switch to phone customer care, reach out to those customers, don’t ask them to reach out to you.

Applicable Strategies: Connect Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

Number of support questions

Average response time

Customer satisfaction (how many customers left unresolved? How many left satisfied? How about unsatisfied?)

First contact resolution rate (did customers have to switch channels to receive proper support, or did they get their problem solved over social media the first time?)

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Improve customer service quality over Twitter and Facebook by responding to customer comments and customers who have hashtagged our company in 2 hours or less. Have a 100% response rate in 6 months, and an 80% first contact resolution rate.

9. Listen to Your Customers

Listening to your customers is important to making them feel like part of the community. It is also important to document customer feedback to improve processes within your company that aren’t working as well as they should.

Listen to customers by having them vote on important processes (for example, Ben and Jerry’s had customers vote on which retired flavour to bring back from the grave). Take note of customer feedback, and implement a strategy for turning that feedback into actionable change.

Applicable Strategies: Connect Strategy, Collaborate Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

How many conversations you have had with customers on social media

How many suggestions you are getting from your customers on social media

Out of those suggestions, note how many you have put into a plan for improvement

(Use social listening tools to map this out)

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Take note of customer suggestions and turn at least one quality suggestion per month into action from now until the end of the year.

10. Join the Conversation

You have to be a part of the conversation, or customers will have it without you! Chiming in on customer conversations will help your customers know that you are listening, and that you are willing and ready to engage with them.

Join in the conversation by responding to customers who are tweeting at you, posting on your wall, commenting on your content, etc.

Applicable Strategies: Connect Strategy, Collaborate Strategy.

Useful Social Media Metrics:

Frequency of your replies and network engagement

Out of the posts, comments, etc. that you are mentioned in, how many do you chime in for?

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Example: Become more involved in the conversation by responding to at least 80% of customer posts and comments on Facebook by the end of the year.

Below is me considering my potential promotional strategy for my online portfolio site.

Sources:

https://www.comm100.com/blog/social-media-goals-strategies.html

[annegalliher]

So, Your Twitter Account Is Suspended. Why? And Now What?

QUICK LINKS

Enjoy Social Media for as Long as 'They' Let You

Was Your Twitter Account Suspended Because...

Twitter Account Suspension and Other Twitter Enforcement Actions

What to Do If Your Twitter Account Is Suspended

“Your Twitter account has been suspended.”

DA DA DAAA!

NO ONE wants to hear that… like, EVER… 

Yet, with Twitter continuously changing the Twitter Rulebook (and, by the way, it’s YOUR, Twitter user’s, responsibility to stay on top of those changes!), it’s nearly impossible to keep your Twitter account squeaky clean.

I know exactly how you feel. I had not one, but several Twitter accounts suspended at one point or another.

Full disclosure though: some of my Twitter account suspensions didn’t exactly come as a surprise… I knew I was playing with fire! 

You can learn more about why a few of my Twitter accounts were suspended in my best Twitter tools post.

Whether you knew you were breaking Twitter rules that got your Twitter account suspended or not (that’s between you and you!

), let’s take a look at

several common cases of why Twitter accounts get suspended,

what (if anything) you can do to get your account back,

what to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Enjoy Social Media for as Long as ‘They’ Let You

What, on earth?…

You are right, this doesn’t seemingly have anything to do with your Twitter account suspension.

However, since humans now have a SHORTER attention span than your childhood friend, the goldfish (I know, right?!!!), something I’d normally save for the end of the post has to be said now – while I have your FULL ATTENTION.

Yes, it’s THAT important!

per recent Microsoft study

Still with me? Or are you completely distracted by my masterful content repurposing?… (in this case, summing up the very long Microsoft study in two images.

)

Wait, where were we? I’m so distracted… 

Oh, yes, something really important…

When using third-party platforms (any website you don’t own, in other words), you are completely at their mercy.

You are not ‘entitled’ to anything.

Their platform. Their rules. Their last word.

If they close their doors tomorrow (like Google+ just did), everything you’ve built on that platform is done for.

Thank goodness, a platform closing down for good is extremely rare.

But what about…

Google algorithm changes?

Facebook Zero reach?

Twitter API changes?

Speaking of Google algorithm changes, did you know Google changes it around 500–600 times per year? 

No one can protect you from platform changes. All you can do is suck it up and adapt.

So, if your Twitter account is suspended, you find yourself at the mercy of a random Twitter employee to plead your case to. And, let me tell you, they haven’t been that merciful, as of late!

Now… when I said, “All you can do is suck it up and adapt“, I was half serious.

There IS something you can and SHOULD do to protect yourself.

When using ANY third-party platform (Twitter, Facebook, SlideShare, Medium, whatever), your objective should be to bring people you engage with back to your site as quickly (but spam-free-ly!!!) as possible, then build those relationships on your own turf and terms.

That’s precisely why I wasn’t crying when my Twitter accounts got suspended. At least, I milked them for all the website traffic I could before I was busted.

And yes, I went into much more detail about how exactly I got my new Twitter followers to come to Traffic Generation Café in the best Twitter tools post I mentioned above; take a look at it when you are done here.

Alrighty; moving on.

Was Your Twitter Account Suspended Because…

You know that message you got when your Twitter account got suspended?

It went something like this:

Hi,

The following behaviors are violations of the Twitter Rules:

• Creating serial and/or multiple accounts with overlapping use cases • Cross-posting Tweets or links across accounts • Aggressive following, particularly through automated means

As such, these accounts will remain suspended.

Gut-wrenching, I know.

Let’s see if your Twitter account was suspended or restricted due to…

Repeatedly posting duplicate or near-duplicate content to one or multiple accounts you run

You used to read it everywhere, “Post your tweets multiple times to make sure your followers actually see your content!”

Oh, yes, the good ol’ golden standard of making yourself visible on Twitter…

No longer the case.

Twitter rules state:

You may not post duplicative or substantially similar Tweets on one account or over multiple accounts you operate.

So, whether you used to:

post the same tweet to multiple accounts you run, OR

schedule/recycle the same tweet to go out hours or days apart

…it’s now against Twitter rules.

This one definitely hit HARD.

Take a look at this Twitter forum thread:

A Twitter employee replies:

Yet another question follows:

To that, Twitter says, “Sorry, we aren’t here to entertain every question about our policies.”

There you have it.

A whole list of don’ts and only one way to do:

craft each tweet thoughtfully,

post it manually (once),

then rinse and repeat.

Hey, I am all for maintaining/re-establishing quality content on Twitter, but realistically?… who has the time to market on Twitter ‘to a T’?

But then again… if more and more marketers stop using Twitter to promote their businesses, wouldn’t that create a great opportunity for those of us who don’t mind putting some elbow grease into it? 

If you do want to share the same post across multiple profiles, or to repeat it on your own profile, Twitter recommends that you retweet your original post.

Buuuuut… not too much 

, because 

Another way to get into trouble with Twitter and get your account suspended is:

Liking and/or retweeting too many tweets at once

Doing it ‘aggressively‘, in other words.

And it’s up to Twitter to decide whether what you are doing is aggressive or not. How convenient, right?

I once had a brand new Twitter account suspended within an hour of its creation for that very reason: I engaged with (liked, @mentioned) and retweeted too many posts within that hour.

Arrrrrggggghhhh….

Truthfully, what I was trying to do was to make my account look less ghost-towny! Since I didn’t want to tweet out a bunch of Traffic Generation Café posts (that was too spammy for my taste, ironically!), I decided to spread some retweeting/engagement wealth to the people I had started to follow.

Alas, that was exactly what got me banned! 

How do you stay out of this kind of Twitter trouble?

Let’s say you go to your Twitter timeline to do that manual thing Twitter wants us to do – converse, engage, relate, be present.

Don’t just go nuts and like every tweet you see!

Give yourself a limit – let’s say to like 5 tweets, to retweet 5 tweets with a thoughtful comment to go with each one, and to share one of your blog posts in-between.

Better yet, do this 2-3 times per day.

OR better yet, establish an easy-to-follow daily Twitter routine to make sure you make the most of Twitter within the least amount of time.

Read How to Manage Twitter Like a Pro [Your Daily Twitter Routine] to…well, learn how to manage Twitter like a pro

!

The next most common reason to get your Twitter account suspended is:

Aggressively following and unfollowing Twitter users

Twitter considers it spam:

…if you have followed and/or unfollowed a large number of of accounts in a short time period, particularly by automated means (aggressive following or follower churn).

And, as if that was unclear in any way, here’s more:

Following/unfollowing users was always a huge part of my Twitter marketing strategy.

So much so that I don’t mind going a bit gray hat on this one every once in while.

Learn more here: Best Twitter Tools to Get More Twitter Followers in 2019

Closely related to automatically following/unfollowing users is:

Using or promoting any tools to automatically add Twitter followers or engagements

Twitter considers it spam:

…if you sell, purchase, or attempt to artificially inflate account interactions (such as followers, Retweets, likes, etc.); and

…if you use or promote third-party services or apps that claim to get you more followers, Retweets, or likes (such as follower trains, sites promising “more followers fast”, or any other site that offers to automatically add followers or engagements to your account or Tweets).

Totally get it.

It’s one thing to use a Twitter automation tool to make your life of getting more followers easier (but you still have to do the work!!!), and it’s something completely different and definitely spammy to outright BUY followers, Retweets, likes, etc.

This one is easy: DON’T DO IT.

Abusing trending topics or hashtags

Twitter considers it spam:

…if you post multiple updates to a trending or popular topic with an intent to subvert or manipulate the topic to drive traffic or attention to unrelated accounts, products, services, or initiatives.

Say, you create a tweet, then add a popular/trending hashtag to it – not because it’s relevant, but because you want your tweet to be seen by the people following the topic.

That example is a clearly spammy and unacceptable way to market your business.

I am sure most of you don’t do that, but there are many other ways to abuse trending topics… be assured that Twitter is monitoring that one very closely.

Posting affiliate links

Twitter considers it spam:

…if you post misleading, deceptive, or malicious links (e.g., affiliate links, links to malware/clickjacking pages, etc.).

Social media is not a storefront. Not the right place to make a sale; unless you are paying for ads, of course.

Bring your followers back to your site. THEN convert them.

Twitter Account Suspension and Other Twitter Enforcement Actions

Now comes the really hard part: paying for your Twitter indiscretions.

I’ve got some good and some bad news for you here.

The good news is Twitter is genuinely trying to make the platform better for everyone.

And they ‘aren’t there to getcha…‘

Should they feel your otherwise healthy Twitter account is getting into a bit of trouble with Twitter rules, they won’t just ban you, I promise.

They’ll try to warn you first (most often, send you an email notification), then might give you a slap on the wrist.

For instance:

Twitter Might Require Tweet Removal

Once again, this kind of Twitter enforcement action exists to ensure:

…we are not being overly harsh with an otherwise healthy account that made a mistake and violated our Rules.

If Twitter determines that your tweet violated the Twitter Rules:

They’ll send you an email to let you know which tweet is in violation and which specific rule it violated.

You then can either remove the offending tweet or

…appeal it if you believe Twitter made an error.

(Hmmm… Remove it and count your blessings! 

)

Meanwhile, while Twitter is waiting for you to remove the tweet, they’ll hide that tweet from public view and will replace the original content with a notice stating that the tweet is no longer available because it violated Twitter Rules.

This notice will also stay for 14 days after the tweet was removed.

Twitter Might Place an Account in Read-Only Mode

Once again, this slap on the wrist is reserved for an otherwise healthy account that is ‘in the middle of an abusive episode‘, as Twitter puts it.

In this case, Twitter might temporarily make your account read-only, limiting your ability to Tweet, Retweet, or Like content until ‘calmer heads prevail‘.

If that’s your punishment, then:

You’ll still be able to read your timeline.

You’ll only be able to send Direct Messages to your followers.

Others will still be able to see and engage with the account.

The duration of this enforcement action can range from 12 hours to 7 days, depending on the nature of the violation.

Twitter Might Make Your Tweets and/or Account Less Visible

This is something that’s referred to as ‘restricting or limiting an account or content’ throughout Twitter Rules, yet there’s no specific section that explains what it is.

From what I could gather, it sounds like Twitter might limit (a.k.a not show) your account or tweets in search results, replies, and on timelines.

The only other piece of info we have is:

Limiting Tweet visibility depends on a number of signals about the nature of the interaction and the quality of the content.

Twitter Might Make You Verify Your Account

This helps Twitter weed out violators who are abusing Twitter multiple accounts rules – operating those to spam Twitter users, for instance.

If Twitter suspects you are running one of those Twitter spam rings 

, they will lock your account (remove it from follower counts, Retweets, and likes) and require you to verify account ownership with a phone number or email address.

Twitter Account Suspension or Permanent Suspension

Compared to a Twitter account suspension, all previous enforcement actions were just that: a slap on the rist.

Account suspensions happen if Twitter determines that a person

has violated the Twitter Rules in a particularly egregious way,or

has repeatedly violated them even after receiving notifications from Twitter.

When Twitter suspends an account, they notify the account owner and explain which policy or policies he/she has violated and which content is in violation.

What to Do If Your Twitter Account Is Suspended

That’s the good news: if you believe Twitter made a mistake, you can appeal your account suspension.

=> Follow this link to file a report

The bad news is if you appeal is denied, your Twitter account suspension becomes permanent.

Twitter will remove your account from global view, AND you will not be allowed to create new accounts.

Yes, it’s very sad and very final…

Marketing Takeaway

Phew!…

Bookmark this post and use it as a guide of what not to do to remain in good standing with Twitter.

It’s definitely a lot easier to try to follow Twitter rules than to deal with a Twitter account suspension!

The post So, Your Twitter Account Is Suspended. Why? And Now What? appeared first on TrafficGenerationCafe.com.

[carmineri]

7 Ways to Thank a Disney World Cast Member

By Liz Mangan

With Thanksgiving nearly upon us, we thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on how thankful we are for Disney Cast Members. While most of us will pass the holiday with our family and friends, gorging on food and watching too much television, many of them will spend their day at work, keeping thousands of guests safe and happy. And it’s not just during the holidays. Whether it’s a beautifully sunny day or the day a hurricane is forecasted to arrive, Cast Members are always there to keep the magic alive. I’m sure anyone who has vacationed at Disney World had at least one memorable experience with a Cast Member, if not more. So for the next time you’re at Walt Disney World, here are seven ways to thank a Walt Disney World Cast Member.

Visit Guest Relations

If you want to thank a Cast Member in the most meaningful way possible, the best approach is to leave comments with Guest Relations. Disney prides itself on customer service, so feedback left with Guest Relations is a big deal in the Disney universe.  Not only do the comments get back to the Cast Member, but they also go to their manager and to their employee file. Comments can even be used for internal contests or in performance reviews for things like promotions. The only down side is that this is one of the most time-consuming methods. Depending on how long the line is for Guest Relations, you could be waiting a while on top of the time it takes to give the feedback. And before you say anything, don’t worry. I know what you’re thinking – ‘Yay, another line!’ Sadly, we haven’t optimized the wait times on that. Yet.

E-mail Guest Communications 

If the line for Guest Relations is too long or you forget to stop on your way out of the park, you can also e-mail your experience to the Disney World Guest Communications account (wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com). An automated reply will be sent, and then sometimes an actual human will reply days or weeks later. This e-mail is used for all forms of communication and comments, including complaints or questions, so they have a lot to filter through. Although I have given thanks to a Cast Member this way, I feel like the odds of it reaching the Cast Member are much better directly through Guest Relations rather than an e-mail.

Tweet @WDWToday

You can send thank you messages through Walt Disney World Resort’s Twitter account using #CastCompliment. They even Tweet back pictures of Cast Members holding the original Tweets. I love this idea because you get a glimpse into the magic that Cast Members create every day.

Tip Extra

Unfortunately, most of the Cast Members you’ll run into on vacation can’t accept tips or gifts, even small ones. However, some positions, like servers or Mousekeeping, depend heavily on tips to make a living. If you want to thank one of these Cast Members for going above and beyond their normal duties, an extra tip is a great way to show some appreciation for their hard work. Based on our Ask It survey from a couple weeks ago, it sounds like many of our readers do this already!

Give Thank You Notes

You can bring business card or post card sized thank you notes to hand out to Cast Members who are particularly helpful. A simple google search will bring up tons of options for cute Disney themed ones or some people create their own. If you leave a portion of blank space, you can even write a personalized thank you note to the Cast Member based on your specific experience. These are probably the least practical (who really wants to carry even more stuff with them around the parks all day), but it’s not too hard to leave these in the room with your tip for Mousekeeping, for example.

Talk to a Supervisor

I wouldn’t recommend this approach in every situation. However, I have given positive feedback directly to managers or supervisors when I saw them nearby. If they don’t look too busy with something else or you’re already talking to them about something unrelated, it doesn’t hurt to ask if they have a couple seconds to chat about the Cast Member. They’re usually pleased to hear the positive feedback and grateful that you let them know.

Be on Your Best Behavior

Believe it or not, one of the easiest things you can do to thank a Cast Member for all that they do to make your trip wonderful won’t cost you any extra time or money. It just requires is a little bit of effort on your part to be kind to them and listen to their instructions. Their jobs aren’t easy, and it can make a world of difference to have guests who understand that the Cast Members are simply there to help.

  Hopefully that gives you some ideas for your next trip! If you try any of them, be sure to let us know how it goes in the comments below. And to all those Cast Members who make our vacation dreams a reality, thank you for all your hard work!

7 Ways to Thank a Disney World Cast Member is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

from TouringPlans.com Blog http://ift.tt/2AmH3lQ

[onlinemarketingcourses]

So, Your Twitter Account Is Suspended. Why? And Now What?

“Your Twitter account has been suspended.”

DA DA DAAA!

NO ONE wants to hear that… like, EVER… 😱🤪

Yet, with Twitter continuously changing the Twitter Rulebook (and, by the way, it’s YOUR, Twitter user’s, responsibility to stay on top of those changes!), it’s nearly impossible to keep your Twitter account squeaky clean.

I know exactly how you feel. I had not one, but several Twitter accounts suspended at one point or another.

Full disclosure though: some of my Twitter account suspensions didn’t exactly come as a surprise… I knew I was playing with fire! 😉🔥👌

You can learn more about why a few of my Twitter accounts were suspended in my best Twitter tools post.

Whether you knew you were breaking Twitter rules that got your Twitter account suspended or not (that’s between you and you! 😉 ), let’s take a look at

several common cases of why Twitter accounts get suspended,

what (if anything) you can do to get your account back,

what to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Enjoy Social Media for as Long as ‘They’ Let You

What, on earth?…

You are right, this doesn’t seemingly have anything to do with your Twitter account suspension.

However, since humans now have a SHORTER attention span than your childhood friend, the goldfish (I know, right?!!!), something I’d normally save for the end of the post has to be said now – while I have your FULL ATTENTION.

Yes, it’s THAT important!

per recent Microsoft study

Still with me? Or are you completely distracted by my masterful content repurposing?… (in this case, summing up the very long Microsoft study in two images. 😉 )

Wait, where were we? I’m so distracted… 😳 🤪

Oh, yes, something really important…

When using third-party platforms (any website you don’t own, in other words), you are completely at their mercy.

You are not ‘entitled’ to anything.

Their platform. Their rules. Their last word.

If they close their doors tomorrow (like Google+ just did), everything you’ve built on that platform is done for.

Thank goodness, a platform closing down for good is extremely rare.

But what about…

Google algorithm changes?

Facebook Zero reach?

Twitter API changes?

Speaking of Google algorithm changes, did you know Google changes it around 500–600 times per year? 😲🤪

No one can protect you from platform changes. All you can do is suck it up and adapt.

So, if your Twitter account is suspended, you find yourself at the mercy of a random Twitter employee to plead your case to. And, let me tell you, they haven’t been that merciful, as of late!

Now… when I said, “All you can do is suck it up and adapt“, I was half serious.

There IS something you can and SHOULD do to protect yourself.

When using ANY third-party platform (Twitter, Facebook, SlideShare, Medium, whatever), your goal is to bring people you engage with back to your site as quickly (but spam-free-ly!!!) as possible, then build those relationships on your own turf and terms.

That’s precisely why I wasn’t crying when my Twitter accounts got suspended. At least, I milked them for all the website traffic I could before I was busted.

And yes, I went into much more detail about how exactly I got my new Twitter followers to come to Traffic Generation Café in the best Twitter tools post I mentioned above; take a look at it when you are done here.

Alrighty; moving on.

Was Your Twitter Account Suspended Because…

You know that message you got when your Twitter account got suspended?

It went something like this:

Hi,

The following behaviors are violations of the Twitter Rules:

• Creating serial and/or multiple accounts with overlapping use cases • Cross-posting Tweets or links across accounts • Aggressive following, particularly through automated means

As such, these accounts will remain suspended.

Gut-wrenching, I know.

Let’s see if your Twitter account was suspended or restricted due to…

Repeatedly posting duplicate or near-duplicate content to one or multiple accounts you run

You used to read it everywhere, “Post your tweets multiple times to make sure your followers actually see your content!”

Oh, yes, the good ol’ golden standard of making yourself visible on Twitter…

No longer the case.

Twitter rules state:

You may not post duplicative or substantially similar Tweets on one account or over multiple accounts you operate.

So, whether you used to:

post the same tweet to multiple accounts you run, OR

schedule/recycle the same tweet to go out hours or days apart

…it’s now against Twitter rules.

This one definitely hit HARD.

Take a look at this Twitter forum thread:

A Twitter employee replies:

Yet another question follows:

To that, Twitter says, “Sorry, we aren’t here to entertain every question about our policies.”

There you have it.

A whole list of don’ts and only one way to do:

craft each tweet thoughtfully,

post it manually (once),

then rinse and repeat.

Hey, I am all for maintaining/re-establishing quality content on Twitter, but realistically?… who has the time to market on Twitter ‘to a T’?

But then again… if more and more marketers stop using Twitter to promote their businesses, wouldn’t that create a great opportunity for those of us who don’t mind putting some elbow grease into it? 💡🤫 🤓

If you do want to share the same post across multiple profiles, or to repeat it on your own profile, Twitter recommends that you retweet your original post.

Buuuuut… not too much 😅, because 👇

Another way to get into trouble with Twitter and get your account suspended is:

Liking and/or retweeting too many tweets at once

Doing it ‘aggressively‘, in other words.

And it’s up to Twitter to decide whether what you are doing is aggressive or not. How convenient, right?

I once had a brand new Twitter account suspended within an hour of its creation for that very reason: I engaged with (liked, @mentioned) and retweeted too many posts within that hour.

Arrrrrggggghhhh….

Truthfully, what I was trying to do was to make my account look less ghost-towny! Since I didn’t want to tweet out a bunch of Traffic Generation Café posts (that was too spammy for my taste, ironically!), I decided to spread some retweeting/engagement wealth to the people I had started to follow.

Alas, that was exactly what got me banned! 🤪😖🤐

How do you stay out of this kind of Twitter trouble?

Let’s say you go to your Twitter timeline to do that manual thing Twitter wants us to do – converse, engage, relate, be present.

Don’t just go nuts and like every tweet you see!

Give yourself a limit – let’s say to like 5 tweets, to retweet 5 tweets with a thoughtful comment to go with each one, and to share one of your blog posts in-between.

Better yet, do this 2-3 times per day.

OR better yet, establish an easy-to-follow daily Twitter routine to make sure you make the most of Twitter within the least amount of time.

Read How to Manage Twitter Like a Pro [Your Daily Twitter Routine] to…well, learn how to manage Twitter like a pro 😉 !

The next most common reason to get your Twitter account suspended is:

Aggressively following and unfollowing Twitter users

Twitter considers it spam:

…if you have followed and/or unfollowed a large number of of accounts in a short time period, particularly by automated means (aggressive following or follower churn).

And, as if that was unclear in any way, here’s more:

Following/unfollowing users was always a huge part of my Twitter marketing strategy.

So much so that I don’t mind going a bit gray hat on this one every once in while.

Learn more here: Best Twitter Tools to Get More Twitter Followers in 2019

Closely related to automatically following/unfollowing users is:

Using or promoting any tools to automatically add Twitter followers or engagements

Twitter considers it spam:

…if you sell, purchase, or attempt to artificially inflate account interactions (such as followers, Retweets, likes, etc.); and

…if you use or promote third-party services or apps that claim to get you more followers, Retweets, or likes (such as follower trains, sites promising “more followers fast”, or any other site that offers to automatically add followers or engagements to your account or Tweets).

Totally get it.

It’s one thing to use a Twitter automation tool to make your life of getting more followers easier (but you still have to do the work!!!), and it’s something completely different and definitely spammy to outright BUY followers, Retweets, likes, etc.

This one is easy: DON’T DO IT.

Abusing trending topics or hashtags

Twitter considers it spam:

…if you post multiple updates to a trending or popular topic with an intent to subvert or manipulate the topic to drive traffic or attention to unrelated accounts, products, services, or initiatives.

Say, you create a tweet, then add a popular/trending hashtag to it – not because it’s relevant, but because you want your tweet to be seen by the people following the topic.

That example is a clearly spammy and unacceptable way to market your business.

I am sure most of you don’t do that, but there are many other ways to abuse trending topics… be assured that Twitter is monitoring that one very closely.

Posting affiliate links

Twitter considers it spam:

…if you post misleading, deceptive, or malicious links (e.g., affiliate links, links to malware/clickjacking pages, etc.).

Social media is not a storefront. Not the right place to make a sale; unless you are paying for ads, of course.

Bring your followers back to your site. THEN convert them.

Twitter Account Suspension and Other Twitter Enforcement Actions

Now comes the really hard part: paying for your Twitter indiscretions.

I’ve got some good and some bad news for you here.

The good news is Twitter is genuinely trying to make the platform better for everyone.

And they ‘aren’t there to getcha…‘

Should they feel your otherwise healthy Twitter account is getting into a bit of trouble with Twitter rules, they won’t just ban you, I promise.

They’ll try to warn you first (most often, send you an email notification), then might give you a slap on the wrist.

For instance:

Twitter Might Require Tweet Removal

Once again, this kind of Twitter enforcement action exists to ensure:

…we are not being overly harsh with an otherwise healthy account that made a mistake and violated our Rules.

If Twitter determines that your tweet violated the Twitter Rules:

They’ll send you an email to let you know which tweet is in violation and which specific rule it violated.

You then can either remove the offending tweet or

…appeal it if you believe Twitter made an error.

(Hmmm… Remove it and count your blessings! 😅)

Meanwhile, while Twitter is waiting for you to remove the tweet, they’ll hide that tweet from public view and will replace the original content with a notice stating that the tweet is no longer available because it violated Twitter Rules.

This notice will also stay for 14 days after the tweet was removed.

Twitter Might Place an Account in Read-Only Mode

Once again, this slap on the wrist is reserved for an otherwise healthy account that is ‘in the middle of an abusive episode‘, as Twitter puts it.

In this case, Twitter might temporarily make your account read-only, limiting your ability to Tweet, Retweet, or Like content until ‘calmer heads prevail‘.

If that’s your punishment, then:

You’ll still be able to read your timeline.

You’ll only be able to send Direct Messages to your followers.

Others will still be able to see and engage with the account.

The duration of this enforcement action can range from 12 hours to 7 days, depending on the nature of the violation.

Twitter Might Make Your Tweets and/or Account Less Visible

This is something that’s referred to as ‘restricting or limiting an account or content’ throughout Twitter Rules, yet there’s no specific section that explains what it is.

From what I could gather, it sounds like Twitter might limit (a.k.a not show) your account or tweets in search results, replies, and on timelines.

The only other piece of info we have is:

Limiting Tweet visibility depends on a number of signals about the nature of the interaction and the quality of the content.

Twitter Might Make You Verify Your Account

This helps Twitter weed out violators who are abusing Twitter multiple accounts rules – operating those to spam Twitter users, for instance.

If Twitter suspects you are running one of those Twitter spam rings 😲😲😲, they will lock your account (remove it from follower counts, Retweets, and likes) and require you to verify account ownership with a phone number or email address.

Twitter Account Suspension or Permanent Suspension

Compared to a Twitter account suspension, all previous enforcement actions were just that: a slap on the rist.

Account suspensions happen if Twitter determines that a person

has violated the Twitter Rules in a particularly egregious way,or

has repeatedly violated them even after receiving notifications from Twitter.

When Twitter suspends an account, they notify the account owner and explain which policy or policies he/she has violated and which content is in violation.

What to Do If Your Twitter Account Is Suspended

That’s the good news: if you believe Twitter made a mistake, you can appeal your account suspension.

=> Follow this link to file a report

The bad news is if you appeal is denied, your Twitter account suspension becomes permanent.

Twitter will remove your account from global view, AND you will not be allowed to create new accounts.

Yes, it’s very sad and very final…

Marketing Takeaway

Phew!…

Bookmark this post and use it as a guide of what not to do to remain in good standing with Twitter.

It’s definitely a lot easier to try to follow Twitter rules than to deal with a Twitter account suspension!

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Are you a crafter who’s got questioned the way to provide on Etsy? Many people during the crafting environment have read of Etsy, although not everyone knows how you can offer on an internet market like Etsy. Promoting effectively on Etsy takes somewhat apply and know-how. A standard blunder that almost each “newbie” helps make will be to believe that simply because you build a shop on Etsy, the customers are going to come flocking! That is removed from the situation. Learning the best way to provide on Etsy takes some trial and mistake in addition to a excellent comprehension of how internet marketplaces for crafts and humanities work.

It is vitally common for a newbie seller to build their brand new store, total of hope and enthusiasm, only to discover that weeks and months pass by without just one sale. The seller gets discouraged, and allows the shop languish, and eventually quits. But this doesn’t need to come about! It is probable to be successful on Etsy. But like all factors it’s going to take effort as well as a willingness to know. pinterest ads

You will discover five insider secrets to promoting on Etsy that each new vendor who wants to be successful will have to grasp: photographs, tagging, pricing, descriptions, and promotion. Find out these 5 secrets and set them into practice, and you will see an important rise in visitors to your Etsy shop, as well as in time, much more profits as well.

To start with and foremost, are your photographs fantastic plenty of? Most often, the answer is no. Even though you’ve got labored hard on the images, odds are they are not fantastic sufficient. Have a look at the entrance page of Etsy. Take a look at the crisp, clear, vivid eye-catching, skilled hunting images in those front page featured pictures. All those photographs have been taken by normal sellers with little digital point and shoot cameras. The real difference is, thriving sellers learn how to utilize the Macro placing (the small flower button) on their own digital cameras to just take ultra pack up shots of their wares. They understand how to phase their items in clean up, uncluttered, subtle options this kind of as towards rocks, or on a bit of wood, or mostly, in a straightforward mild box. (you should buy a straightforward gentle box set that includes the box, colored backgrounds, two images lights, plus a little tripod, for not significantly income on Ebay, and it will be the ideal investment decision you ever make as part of your business.)

Successful sellers also know how to tinker with their photographs to make them productive advertising and marketing applications. Just about every seller, to achieve success must discover how to use some form of photo modifying software package. Photoshop is among the most prevalent but Picasa is absolutely free and easy to discover. Cropping is considered the most significant phase. Pull your products proper approximately fill the complete monitor. Remove blank house around it. Then sharpen the image and participate in together with the fill light-weight and highlights and saturation and contrast till your picture pops. Export it within the accurate file dimensions for Etsy (as much as 2 mb) and you also are all set. Photographs ought to be cropped square considering that that’s what seems around the Etsy listings. Good photographs get you into treasuries, that are collections of twelve objects chosen by other sellers. Treasuries get observed by lots of sellers and customers, so having Treasury-worthy photographs is essential in your Etsy results.

Next arrives tagging. Tagging signifies picking key phrases which are the phrases that prospects will type in for their searches in Etsy, and in Google. You receive 14 tags in Etsy, and effective sellers utilize them all. Tagging is really a bit of an art variety and takes follow. Make sure to make reference to the “From the Merch Desk” every month blog publish on Etsy, which informs sellers from the coming seasons color and elegance traits and indicates tagging terms.

3rd, pricing. Pricing is difficult. Rate also higher and customers will flee. Value much too reduced and consumers will never consider you significantly. Evaluate your competitors—the sellers promoting merchandise extremely very similar to yours. Aim for that standard normal of individuals prices….and after that go increased. Here is the secret of pricing on Etsy: when you want much more income elevate your price ranges. It really is the psychology on the handmade marketplace. For those who rate your products a tiny bit bigger, they have got an effect of worth. Also, have a few products with pretty large price ranges. Those make anything else glimpse “reasonable,” and buyer-friendly.

Fourth, descriptions must be complete. Keep in mind that shoppers can’t get and tackle your item. They can not request you concerns immediately. And that means you description must reply all in their queries. What’s the dimensions? The colour? The form? The texture? Which are the precise proportions, and can they be diverse? Exactly what are its uses? If it can be jewellery, is it superior for daytime or night, or the two? What are the components? Wherever did they originate from? How had been they dealt with? Could it be a durable or delicate product?

Further than most of these factual things, while, it is superior to tell a story. What influenced you to build the item? What inner thoughts will it evoke? Where by did it originate from? How does one envision it remaining utilised? People enjoy a superb story, so inform a single in this article.

Very last of all, encourage. Even though you do the four items stated previously mentioned to perfection, it is actually not likely that your shop will grow without the need of marketing. It’s important to get your store title out to a extensive viewers. You’ll want to make your “brand.” You’ll find paid out and free solutions to try this. The free of charge means include things like making a Fb Fan Site and actively trying to get followers, and developing a Twitter account and often tweeting about your function and business. Beginning a blog is a crucial method to build your brand and acquire exposure. Listing your small business on cost-free craft business directories like Unanimous Craft is useful. Also, participating enthusiastically on Etsy’s have message boards and teams provides you into make contact with which has a large array of other sellers, who will be also customers (and close friends and households of probable prospective buyers). For those who offer jewelry, have on your jewellery all over the place you go and generally carry your online business playing cards. Put your business while in the neighborhood telephone book and Google business directory.

One of the better tips on how to promote your small business is to take part in substantial online community forums and blogs relevant to the craft. By submitting feedback and contributions normally, you develop numerous backlinks again to the organization web site, and make your store noticeable to every one of the readers of individuals message boards and blogs. Bear in mind, individuals viewers are previously intrigued inside your merchandise, mainly because they built the hassle to come back to that specialized web-site in the to start with location.

Compensated promotions include purchasing marketing on weblogs, or buying ads on Facebook or Google AdWords. It may even be helpful to pay for marketing spots (ordinarily identified as “booths”) at online craft marketplaces these as HandmadeCraftshow.com. In exchange with the revenue, you can get the included Facebook, Twitter and site postings the internet site does over a every day basis, likewise as being a scaled-down venue with considerably less competition for the customer’s focus.

Focus on these five facets of creating your Etsy company, as well as in time you’ll see your traffic and your profits mature. Bear in mind it will take the perfect time to build an Etsy business. There’s ordinarily no such factor as right away Etsy achievement! But with hard work and willpower, and a healthy dose of endurance, you can also understand tips on how to offer on Etsy.

References Etsy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etsy

[christinesumpmg1]

5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations

Social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays — just when your team is requesting time off for vacation. Click To Tweet

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! But you might be worrying how you’re going to keep a handle on your social media presence while your team members are taking time off to sip eggnog, unwrap gifts, or indulge in a bit of light gluttony with their friends and family.

It may feel cruel that the season when most of your team is requesting vacation is also the busiest time for social media. Thanks to major shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, e-commerce is on the brain this time of year. Everyone is out there looking for the best deals and hottest brands, and they’re talking about it; social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays!

We know that most social media pros are hesitant to take vacation time. The nature of social media requires a nearly round-the-clock commitment, and people often put off taking vacation time to avoid being out of pocket. But with many companies nixing rollover for paid time off (use it or lose it!), the end of the calendar year can bring a flurry of vacation requests and, with those, anxiety about how best to handle the workload.

It’s a fine line to walk: you can plan your holiday promotions and marketing beautifully, but if nobody is around to respond to the irate customer blowing up your Facebook page on Christmas Eve, goodwill toward your business could all come crashing down.

Last month, Jay Baer presented a fantastic webinar with our friends at ICUC.social on how to effectively manage social media during this most wonderful time of the year. Here is a recap of the best tips from Jay and ICUC. Shore up your social media plan by taking these five steps before the holidays descend on us in full force.

1. Review Your Operations Manual

Sit down with your team and go over your operations plan in detail. Give special consideration to how you plan to respond to negative comments and reviews during this time. Many of these customers may be finding your brand for the first time during their holiday shopping, so making sure that your tone, voice, personality, and speed of reply are on point is key to conversion and retention.

You’ll also want to confirm that all passwords and permissions are set properly. Don’t forget things like software key codes—they should all be up to date and stored somewhere secure but easily accessible.

2. Identify Potential Headaches

Have each member of your crew write down as many possible nightmare situations as they can imagine happening during the holiday rush. It may seem silly, but this activity will help you prepare for the worst case scenario.

These scenarios might include an occasion where the person with the Instagram password is totally unreachable because they’re on vacation in Bali. Or the credit card you use to purchase Facebook ads expires three days before Christmas, and everyone in the finance department is off the grid.

Once you’ve made your list, go through it line by line and talk about how you would handle each situation. Of course, you never expect these sorts of things to happen, but you absolutely must be prepared to take swift and direct action if they do.

3. Look at Internal Response Timelines

This is a big one. It may make sense to you to adjust your normal social media response time while some (or most) of your team is out of pocket over the holidays.

There will be a big spike in mentions of your company, and you only have so much time in the day, right? If you usually respond in a few hours, consider doubling that time while you’re running things with a skeleton crew.

Alternately, you may feel compelled to step things up. The volume of chatter is so high during the holidays, but so are the stakes. Do you really want to respond to customers more slowly than you normally would? If you want to commit to responding at the same speed you’re currently using, when your volume could possibly double or triple, figure that out now and make a detailed plan!

4. Walk Through Your Crisis Plan

You may not feel like you need a social media crisis plan — until you do, and then you need it badly! Don’t put yourself in a tight spot during the busiest time of the year, totally unprepared to handle a social media meltdown. Now is the time to review your crisis plan — and if you don’t have one, create one immediately—and make sure it is up to date and accurately reflects your entire social media universe.

Confirm contact information for your entire team, and figure out who is next up to bat if someone is unreachable. You also may want to talk to other departments such as sales, operations, customer service, and PR. Members of other departments can help you anticipate anything negative that could happen before the year’s end that you might need to address via social media.

Again, it’s incredibly unlikely any of these awful things will actually befall you. But do you want to be caught sleeping if they do?

5. Consider Getting Help

The reality for your company may be that there simply aren’t enough people to adequately cover your social media channels throughout the holiday season. You don’t want your team to sacrifice their break, and you aren’t keen on foisting a massive workload on just a few employees. But you also don’t want to miss opportunities to connect with customers and amplify your brand during the highest traffic time of year.

Good news! There are social media pros out there whose job it is to be extra hands when you need them. They’re highly experienced and can handle content management, replying to comments and reviews, and even escalating customers to management if necessary.

If this seems like the right choice for your company this holiday season, connect with the good folks over at ICUC.social. They’ll help you put a plan in place today, so your social media team can holly their jolly without worrying about things going off the rails! Plus, make sure to check out their Guide to Preparing for the Holiday Season.

The post 5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations appeared first on Convince and Convert: Social Media Consulting and Content Marketing Consulting.

https://ift.tt/2PvMjLL

[fairchildlingpo1]

5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations

Social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays — just when your team is requesting time off for vacation. Click To Tweet

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! But you might be worrying how you’re going to keep a handle on your social media presence while your team members are taking time off to sip eggnog, unwrap gifts, or indulge in a bit of light gluttony with their friends and family.

It may feel cruel that the season when most of your team is requesting vacation is also the busiest time for social media. Thanks to major shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, e-commerce is on the brain this time of year. Everyone is out there looking for the best deals and hottest brands, and they’re talking about it; social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays!

We know that most social media pros are hesitant to take vacation time. The nature of social media requires a nearly round-the-clock commitment, and people often put off taking vacation time to avoid being out of pocket. But with many companies nixing rollover for paid time off (use it or lose it!), the end of the calendar year can bring a flurry of vacation requests and, with those, anxiety about how best to handle the workload.

It’s a fine line to walk: you can plan your holiday promotions and marketing beautifully, but if nobody is around to respond to the irate customer blowing up your Facebook page on Christmas Eve, goodwill toward your business could all come crashing down.

Last month, Jay Baer presented a fantastic webinar with our friends at ICUC.social on how to effectively manage social media during this most wonderful time of the year. Here is a recap of the best tips from Jay and ICUC. Shore up your social media plan by taking these five steps before the holidays descend on us in full force.

1. Review Your Operations Manual

Sit down with your team and go over your operations plan in detail. Give special consideration to how you plan to respond to negative comments and reviews during this time. Many of these customers may be finding your brand for the first time during their holiday shopping, so making sure that your tone, voice, personality, and speed of reply are on point is key to conversion and retention.

You’ll also want to confirm that all passwords and permissions are set properly. Don’t forget things like software key codes—they should all be up to date and stored somewhere secure but easily accessible.

2. Identify Potential Headaches

Have each member of your crew write down as many possible nightmare situations as they can imagine happening during the holiday rush. It may seem silly, but this activity will help you prepare for the worst case scenario.

These scenarios might include an occasion where the person with the Instagram password is totally unreachable because they’re on vacation in Bali. Or the credit card you use to purchase Facebook ads expires three days before Christmas, and everyone in the finance department is off the grid.

Once you’ve made your list, go through it line by line and talk about how you would handle each situation. Of course, you never expect these sorts of things to happen, but you absolutely must be prepared to take swift and direct action if they do.

3. Look at Internal Response Timelines

This is a big one. It may make sense to you to adjust your normal social media response time while some (or most) of your team is out of pocket over the holidays.

There will be a big spike in mentions of your company, and you only have so much time in the day, right? If you usually respond in a few hours, consider doubling that time while you’re running things with a skeleton crew.

Alternately, you may feel compelled to step things up. The volume of chatter is so high during the holidays, but so are the stakes. Do you really want to respond to customers more slowly than you normally would? If you want to commit to responding at the same speed you’re currently using, when your volume could possibly double or triple, figure that out now and make a detailed plan!

4. Walk Through Your Crisis Plan

You may not feel like you need a social media crisis plan — until you do, and then you need it badly! Don’t put yourself in a tight spot during the busiest time of the year, totally unprepared to handle a social media meltdown. Now is the time to review your crisis plan — and if you don’t have one, create one immediately—and make sure it is up to date and accurately reflects your entire social media universe.

Confirm contact information for your entire team, and figure out who is next up to bat if someone is unreachable. You also may want to talk to other departments such as sales, operations, customer service, and PR. Members of other departments can help you anticipate anything negative that could happen before the year’s end that you might need to address via social media.

Again, it’s incredibly unlikely any of these awful things will actually befall you. But do you want to be caught sleeping if they do?

5. Consider Getting Help

The reality for your company may be that there simply aren’t enough people to adequately cover your social media channels throughout the holiday season. You don’t want your team to sacrifice their break, and you aren’t keen on foisting a massive workload on just a few employees. But you also don’t want to miss opportunities to connect with customers and amplify your brand during the highest traffic time of year.

Good news! There are social media pros out there whose job it is to be extra hands when you need them. They’re highly experienced and can handle content management, replying to comments and reviews, and even escalating customers to management if necessary.

If this seems like the right choice for your company this holiday season, connect with the good folks over at ICUC.social. They’ll help you put a plan in place today, so your social media team can holly their jolly without worrying about things going off the rails! Plus, make sure to check out their Guide to Preparing for the Holiday Season.

The post 5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations appeared first on Convince and Convert: Social Media Consulting and Content Marketing Consulting.

https://ift.tt/2PvMjLL

[christinesumpmg]

5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations

Social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays — just when your team is requesting time off for vacation. Click To Tweet

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! But you might be worrying how you’re going to keep a handle on your social media presence while your team members are taking time off to sip eggnog, unwrap gifts, or indulge in a bit of light gluttony with their friends and family.

It may feel cruel that the season when most of your team is requesting vacation is also the busiest time for social media. Thanks to major shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, e-commerce is on the brain this time of year. Everyone is out there looking for the best deals and hottest brands, and they’re talking about it; social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays!

We know that most social media pros are hesitant to take vacation time. The nature of social media requires a nearly round-the-clock commitment, and people often put off taking vacation time to avoid being out of pocket. But with many companies nixing rollover for paid time off (use it or lose it!), the end of the calendar year can bring a flurry of vacation requests and, with those, anxiety about how best to handle the workload.

It’s a fine line to walk: you can plan your holiday promotions and marketing beautifully, but if nobody is around to respond to the irate customer blowing up your Facebook page on Christmas Eve, goodwill toward your business could all come crashing down.

Last month, Jay Baer presented a fantastic webinar with our friends at ICUC.social on how to effectively manage social media during this most wonderful time of the year. Here is a recap of the best tips from Jay and ICUC. Shore up your social media plan by taking these five steps before the holidays descend on us in full force.

1. Review Your Operations Manual

Sit down with your team and go over your operations plan in detail. Give special consideration to how you plan to respond to negative comments and reviews during this time. Many of these customers may be finding your brand for the first time during their holiday shopping, so making sure that your tone, voice, personality, and speed of reply are on point is key to conversion and retention.

You’ll also want to confirm that all passwords and permissions are set properly. Don’t forget things like software key codes—they should all be up to date and stored somewhere secure but easily accessible.

2. Identify Potential Headaches

Have each member of your crew write down as many possible nightmare situations as they can imagine happening during the holiday rush. It may seem silly, but this activity will help you prepare for the worst case scenario.

These scenarios might include an occasion where the person with the Instagram password is totally unreachable because they’re on vacation in Bali. Or the credit card you use to purchase Facebook ads expires three days before Christmas, and everyone in the finance department is off the grid.

Once you’ve made your list, go through it line by line and talk about how you would handle each situation. Of course, you never expect these sorts of things to happen, but you absolutely must be prepared to take swift and direct action if they do.

3. Look at Internal Response Timelines

This is a big one. It may make sense to you to adjust your normal social media response time while some (or most) of your team is out of pocket over the holidays.

There will be a big spike in mentions of your company, and you only have so much time in the day, right? If you usually respond in a few hours, consider doubling that time while you’re running things with a skeleton crew.

Alternately, you may feel compelled to step things up. The volume of chatter is so high during the holidays, but so are the stakes. Do you really want to respond to customers more slowly than you normally would? If you want to commit to responding at the same speed you’re currently using, when your volume could possibly double or triple, figure that out now and make a detailed plan!

4. Walk Through Your Crisis Plan

You may not feel like you need a social media crisis plan — until you do, and then you need it badly! Don’t put yourself in a tight spot during the busiest time of the year, totally unprepared to handle a social media meltdown. Now is the time to review your crisis plan — and if you don’t have one, create one immediately—and make sure it is up to date and accurately reflects your entire social media universe.

Confirm contact information for your entire team, and figure out who is next up to bat if someone is unreachable. You also may want to talk to other departments such as sales, operations, customer service, and PR. Members of other departments can help you anticipate anything negative that could happen before the year’s end that you might need to address via social media.

Again, it’s incredibly unlikely any of these awful things will actually befall you. But do you want to be caught sleeping if they do?

5. Consider Getting Help

The reality for your company may be that there simply aren’t enough people to adequately cover your social media channels throughout the holiday season. You don’t want your team to sacrifice their break, and you aren’t keen on foisting a massive workload on just a few employees. But you also don’t want to miss opportunities to connect with customers and amplify your brand during the highest traffic time of year.

Good news! There are social media pros out there whose job it is to be extra hands when you need them. They’re highly experienced and can handle content management, replying to comments and reviews, and even escalating customers to management if necessary.

If this seems like the right choice for your company this holiday season, connect with the good folks over at ICUC.social. They’ll help you put a plan in place today, so your social media team can holly their jolly without worrying about things going off the rails! Plus, make sure to check out their Guide to Preparing for the Holiday Season.

The post 5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations appeared first on Convince and Convert: Social Media Consulting and Content Marketing Consulting.

https://ift.tt/2PvMjLL

[conniecogeie]

5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations

Social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays — just when your team is requesting time off for vacation. Click To Tweet

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! But you might be worrying how you’re going to keep a handle on your social media presence while your team members are taking time off to sip eggnog, unwrap gifts, or indulge in a bit of light gluttony with their friends and family.

It may feel cruel that the season when most of your team is requesting vacation is also the busiest time for social media. Thanks to major shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, e-commerce is on the brain this time of year. Everyone is out there looking for the best deals and hottest brands, and they’re talking about it; social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays!

We know that most social media pros are hesitant to take vacation time. The nature of social media requires a nearly round-the-clock commitment, and people often put off taking vacation time to avoid being out of pocket. But with many companies nixing rollover for paid time off (use it or lose it!), the end of the calendar year can bring a flurry of vacation requests and, with those, anxiety about how best to handle the workload.

It’s a fine line to walk: you can plan your holiday promotions and marketing beautifully, but if nobody is around to respond to the irate customer blowing up your Facebook page on Christmas Eve, goodwill toward your business could all come crashing down.

Last month, Jay Baer presented a fantastic webinar with our friends at ICUC.social on how to effectively manage social media during this most wonderful time of the year. Here is a recap of the best tips from Jay and ICUC. Shore up your social media plan by taking these five steps before the holidays descend on us in full force.

1. Review Your Operations Manual

Sit down with your team and go over your operations plan in detail. Give special consideration to how you plan to respond to negative comments and reviews during this time. Many of these customers may be finding your brand for the first time during their holiday shopping, so making sure that your tone, voice, personality, and speed of reply are on point is key to conversion and retention.

You’ll also want to confirm that all passwords and permissions are set properly. Don’t forget things like software key codes—they should all be up to date and stored somewhere secure but easily accessible.

2. Identify Potential Headaches

Have each member of your crew write down as many possible nightmare situations as they can imagine happening during the holiday rush. It may seem silly, but this activity will help you prepare for the worst case scenario.

These scenarios might include an occasion where the person with the Instagram password is totally unreachable because they’re on vacation in Bali. Or the credit card you use to purchase Facebook ads expires three days before Christmas, and everyone in the finance department is off the grid.

Once you’ve made your list, go through it line by line and talk about how you would handle each situation. Of course, you never expect these sorts of things to happen, but you absolutely must be prepared to take swift and direct action if they do.

3. Look at Internal Response Timelines

This is a big one. It may make sense to you to adjust your normal social media response time while some (or most) of your team is out of pocket over the holidays.

There will be a big spike in mentions of your company, and you only have so much time in the day, right? If you usually respond in a few hours, consider doubling that time while you’re running things with a skeleton crew.

Alternately, you may feel compelled to step things up. The volume of chatter is so high during the holidays, but so are the stakes. Do you really want to respond to customers more slowly than you normally would? If you want to commit to responding at the same speed you’re currently using, when your volume could possibly double or triple, figure that out now and make a detailed plan!

4. Walk Through Your Crisis Plan

You may not feel like you need a social media crisis plan — until you do, and then you need it badly! Don’t put yourself in a tight spot during the busiest time of the year, totally unprepared to handle a social media meltdown. Now is the time to review your crisis plan — and if you don’t have one, create one immediately—and make sure it is up to date and accurately reflects your entire social media universe.

Confirm contact information for your entire team, and figure out who is next up to bat if someone is unreachable. You also may want to talk to other departments such as sales, operations, customer service, and PR. Members of other departments can help you anticipate anything negative that could happen before the year’s end that you might need to address via social media.

Again, it’s incredibly unlikely any of these awful things will actually befall you. But do you want to be caught sleeping if they do?

5. Consider Getting Help

The reality for your company may be that there simply aren’t enough people to adequately cover your social media channels throughout the holiday season. You don’t want your team to sacrifice their break, and you aren’t keen on foisting a massive workload on just a few employees. But you also don’t want to miss opportunities to connect with customers and amplify your brand during the highest traffic time of year.

Good news! There are social media pros out there whose job it is to be extra hands when you need them. They’re highly experienced and can handle content management, replying to comments and reviews, and even escalating customers to management if necessary.

If this seems like the right choice for your company this holiday season, connect with the good folks over at ICUC.social. They’ll help you put a plan in place today, so your social media team can holly their jolly without worrying about things going off the rails! Plus, make sure to check out their Guide to Preparing for the Holiday Season.

The post 5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations appeared first on Convince and Convert: Social Media Consulting and Content Marketing Consulting.

https://ift.tt/2PvMjLL

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5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations

Social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays — just when your team is requesting time off for vacation. Click To Tweet

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! But you might be worrying how you’re going to keep a handle on your social media presence while your team members are taking time off to sip eggnog, unwrap gifts, or indulge in a bit of light gluttony with their friends and family.

It may feel cruel that the season when most of your team is requesting vacation is also the busiest time for social media. Thanks to major shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, e-commerce is on the brain this time of year. Everyone is out there looking for the best deals and hottest brands, and they’re talking about it; social media traffic spikes a whopping 73 percent during the holidays!

We know that most social media pros are hesitant to take vacation time. The nature of social media requires a nearly round-the-clock commitment, and people often put off taking vacation time to avoid being out of pocket. But with many companies nixing rollover for paid time off (use it or lose it!), the end of the calendar year can bring a flurry of vacation requests and, with those, anxiety about how best to handle the workload.

It’s a fine line to walk: you can plan your holiday promotions and marketing beautifully, but if nobody is around to respond to the irate customer blowing up your Facebook page on Christmas Eve, goodwill toward your business could all come crashing down.

Last month, Jay Baer presented a fantastic webinar with our friends at ICUC.social on how to effectively manage social media during this most wonderful time of the year. Here is a recap of the best tips from Jay and ICUC. Shore up your social media plan by taking these five steps before the holidays descend on us in full force.

1. Review Your Operations Manual

Sit down with your team and go over your operations plan in detail. Give special consideration to how you plan to respond to negative comments and reviews during this time. Many of these customers may be finding your brand for the first time during their holiday shopping, so making sure that your tone, voice, personality, and speed of reply are on point is key to conversion and retention.

You’ll also want to confirm that all passwords and permissions are set properly. Don’t forget things like software key codes—they should all be up to date and stored somewhere secure but easily accessible.

2. Identify Potential Headaches

Have each member of your crew write down as many possible nightmare situations as they can imagine happening during the holiday rush. It may seem silly, but this activity will help you prepare for the worst case scenario.

These scenarios might include an occasion where the person with the Instagram password is totally unreachable because they’re on vacation in Bali. Or the credit card you use to purchase Facebook ads expires three days before Christmas, and everyone in the finance department is off the grid.

Once you’ve made your list, go through it line by line and talk about how you would handle each situation. Of course, you never expect these sorts of things to happen, but you absolutely must be prepared to take swift and direct action if they do.

3. Look at Internal Response Timelines

This is a big one. It may make sense to you to adjust your normal social media response time while some (or most) of your team is out of pocket over the holidays.

There will be a big spike in mentions of your company, and you only have so much time in the day, right? If you usually respond in a few hours, consider doubling that time while you’re running things with a skeleton crew.

Alternately, you may feel compelled to step things up. The volume of chatter is so high during the holidays, but so are the stakes. Do you really want to respond to customers more slowly than you normally would? If you want to commit to responding at the same speed you’re currently using, when your volume could possibly double or triple, figure that out now and make a detailed plan!

4. Walk Through Your Crisis Plan

You may not feel like you need a social media crisis plan — until you do, and then you need it badly! Don’t put yourself in a tight spot during the busiest time of the year, totally unprepared to handle a social media meltdown. Now is the time to review your crisis plan — and if you don’t have one, create one immediately—and make sure it is up to date and accurately reflects your entire social media universe.

Confirm contact information for your entire team, and figure out who is next up to bat if someone is unreachable. You also may want to talk to other departments such as sales, operations, customer service, and PR. Members of other departments can help you anticipate anything negative that could happen before the year’s end that you might need to address via social media.

Again, it’s incredibly unlikely any of these awful things will actually befall you. But do you want to be caught sleeping if they do?

5. Consider Getting Help

The reality for your company may be that there simply aren’t enough people to adequately cover your social media channels throughout the holiday season. You don’t want your team to sacrifice their break, and you aren’t keen on foisting a massive workload on just a few employees. But you also don’t want to miss opportunities to connect with customers and amplify your brand during the highest traffic time of year.

Good news! There are social media pros out there whose job it is to be extra hands when you need them. They’re highly experienced and can handle content management, replying to comments and reviews, and even escalating customers to management if necessary.

If this seems like the right choice for your company this holiday season, connect with the good folks over at ICUC.social. They’ll help you put a plan in place today, so your social media team can holly their jolly without worrying about things going off the rails! Plus, make sure to check out their Guide to Preparing for the Holiday Season.

The post 5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media Over the Holiday Vacations appeared first on Convince and Convert: Social Media Consulting and Content Marketing Consulting.

https://ift.tt/2PvMjLL