Between holiday shopping and making vacation plans, your mind has probably been in a million different directions this past week. If social media news has been the last of your thoughts, no worries! We’ve rounded up a few useful posts you may have missed, covering news and new features from your favorite apps.
Being the social media fanatic you are, e-cards are probably on your list of things to share. Actually, you probably send them out randomly for no reason at all, just because they’re fun and you can. Now it’s the holiday season and there’s a valid occasion to do so! But don’t worry if you’re not the most creative one in the bunch. Digging around someecards to find the most relatable notes you and your like-minded friends will understand and love turned up these results (click each one to send it via email directly from the site):
So you’re writing a blog post – that’s great! Whether you plan on a brief couple paragraphs or an in-depth article, there are a few elements you need to maximize potential for both the writer and the reader. This checklist will ensure your work contains six key pieces that make up the perfect blog post:
An Internet meme is “an activity, concept, catchphrase or piece of media which spreads, often as mimicry, from person to person via the Internet.” There are certain ones you see over and over and in different contexts. You may sometimes feel sorry for Bad Luck Brian or annoyed with Overly Attached Girlfriend. Maybe you feel like Success Kid when you do something awesome, or as if your parents are always grilling you like Condescending Wonka.
What if you could be one of your favorite (or least favorite) meme characters? Halloween is this weekend and you can be WHATEVER you want for the occasion, so here are 10 meme characters you can pose as very, very easily. So easily, in fact, that the most you’ll need to do is run to the mall or nearby store if you can’t find something suitable at home.
Clay Fernald (@claynferno) is the brains behind the Midde East and Zuzu’s social media. From running the actual venue to running the venue’s social media (which includes keeping guests, artists, and followers constantly informed), we bet Clay had a lot of advice for businesses looking to get their big toe wet in the somewhat murky waters of social media. And we were right.
1. Music Monday! #mm
Even if you aren’t in the music business, put your favorite artist in the spotlight on Monday! Have you Heard Aretha Franklin sing Adele? Wooooo! Hashtag #mm means “Music Monday.” Everyone likes music!
2. Follow Back! #ff
In 2012, we got the blue checkmark next to our @MidEastClub Twitter handle? What does that mean, we’re clear for smallpox? No! We’re a recognized professional entity by the almighty Twitter herself! Thanks, birdie!
Anyhoot, we got there by slowly building a great ratio of followers to people we followed. And also we made sure not to follow jerks. Us the #FF hashtag on Friday to engage with your peers, your friends, your competitors and see how fast your list can grow. If you get a #FF notification, follow them back (after checking out their profile, of course!)
3. Report Spammers!
Are you followed on Twitter by a lot of egg icons, or is someone spamming one-of-a-kind Marty McFly sneaker sales on your Facebook Page? Unless it’s Doc Brown himself, use the appropriate buttons to report to Twitter and Facebook that these are spam accounts! Keep the B.S. to a minimum and those news feeds clean for all. It feels like a citizens arrest!
4. Meme it up!
Bored on a Thursday? Send your intern to MemeGenerator to make a clever joke about what you and your team are working on.
See, look what my intern did! She’s a card.
5. Speak in your own voice!
There are lots of conflicting words of advice about this, but as a brand, you are still a person, or hopefully, a team! Sign your tweets if you need to express who you are.
For example. nerd musicians @PaulandStorm share a Twitter account and they simply sign tweets this way: [P] = Paul, [S] = Storm.
In the MidEastClub Twitter bio, we are a collective team, but we post as “The Box Office, Jill&Steph&Jamie&Clay.” This puts at least a name to the company (four names, in fact!) that people can relate to!
6. Acknowledge your mistakes.
If we make a mistake or update set times, we say “oops” or “updated set times.”
Catching a Lyft may be as easy as opening an app on your phone, but Zach Cole, Lyft’s social media manager, doesn’t have an easy job. From mastering Lyft’s “cool dude next door” voice on Twitter to handling Lyft’s responses to the numerous red-tape it faces in many states across the country – Cole has a lot to handle, but he makes it look effortless! We asked him for some advice for businesses looking to emulate that kind of organic presence.
1. Find out what your audience likes.
Brands that don’t constantly talk about themselves often find great success. Knowing what your audience is truly interested in can help inform your content strategy, so that you’re able to share more content that isn’t centered around your brand, but still communicates your brand values.
2. Create a content calendar.
Brands with strong content calendars do two things really well: they have a regular posting frequency per social channel, which helps brands understand when they can best reach their audience, and they post a variety of content. Content calendars are great tools for bucketing content into categories so that brands can share a balanced variety of content.
3. Set goals.
Talk with your marketing and brand teams to determine your brand’s goals for social media. This way, you can have an idea of what matters most when working to improve your social strategy. Goals vary from one brand to the next — some brands (media and e-commerce) will often measure website traffic from social, while others may want to focus on reaching a target demographic with a specific message.
4. Experiment.
Try new things! The world of social media is still relatively new, so there’s always room to experiment. Try sharing new types of content, playing with copy, working with influencers, etc. You sometimes never know just where you’re going to find the most success until you give it a go — and generally social media lets brands do this at minimal cost.
Two accounts I’ve ALWAYS noticed being awesome at Twitter are @together and @mmmmaven. Together is Boston’s annual week-long electronic music, technology, and art festival. Mmmmaven is a DJ and production school located in Central Square, Cambridge. Both of them are on our list of who to follow in Boston because not only do they both provide followers with music-related things to do in Boston, but also things in the area involving art and technology. Even though the festival is once per year, the Together team is active year-round. Aside from Mmmmaven’s courses, they also tweet about free workshops, which are great for people who want to get into music (DJ’ing and/or producing) but don’t know where to start.
If your question is “WHY ARE THEY BOTH SO GOOD AT TWEETING?” your answer is because @daviday handles them both. He has also offered his top tips for you!
Find more A&E Twitter accounts at our list of Who to Follow in Boston.
1. Tweetdeck
Download Tweetdeck if you haven’t yet. In Chrome, it’s best as an app. It will change the way you look at Twitter.
2. Interact
Every time you open your feed, don’t forget to favorite things. Like a Tweet? That’s what the favorite button is for.
3. Create a paper.li newsletter
Definitely for anyone who considers them a leader in their field or any business – paper.li can automatically pick followers up for you because it autotags some of the most popular accounts.
4. Follow your neighbors
Every time I start a new account, I pull up Google Maps and find every Twitter account in the surrounding area. Be a good neighbor and stay in touch with your hyperlocal surroundings.
5. Schedule tweets
More and more often, people have their Tweetdeck pulled up most of the evening (what they call the “second screen”). So if you’re working 9-5, don’t forget to schedule some for later, because Twitter addicts are hardcore.
In Boston? Around Boston? Love music? 
@AllstonPudding is one of the area’s prime music blogs, and its Twitter feed is flooded with show announcements, artist interviews, photos, and RTs of totally relevant things. @AllstonPudding actually offers more than just article links… like free stuff! Want to go to a local show for free? Check out their feed for ticket giveaways.
Inspired by their ways? Daniel Schiffer (@dschiffty) and Chanelle Diaz (@chanellediaz13) are behind the account, and shared their top five Twitter tips with us!
Find more A&E Twitter accounts at our list of Who to Follow in Boston.
1. Hashtags are a tool. Make sure to use them to your advantage (and don’t overdo it).
2. Twitter is a platform for conversation so it’s very important to interact with your followers: retweet, tweet at them, etc.
3. Tweet frequently! With the amount of accounts people follow, it’s very easy to get lost in your followers’ feeds.
4. Stay true to your audience by maintaining a consistent image/brand.
5. Keep Twitter fun and upbeat, especially with an account and following like ours.