Throughout the semester, I was able to implement several strategies to help build my influence on social media. Before delving into class posts , I’d like to mention my highest performing tweets that while incorporating course strategies did not include the hashtag #NHsmtp.
My pride and joy during this term (A) is the tweet below. #Southernsirisays was trending. I hopped on the band wagon by quoting DL Hughley. I also included an image of him specifically from the classic and highly recognizable Kings of Comedy taping. DL ended up retweeting my post very quickly which then prompted engagement from his followers. Another of my posts (B) was a quote tweet of a thread written by Bill Werde. This was after the Beychella performance when half the word was arguing over her clout and relevancy compared to Michael Jackson. Bill is known for his journalism at Billboard. He is certainly an influencer in the music industry and journalism industries. Engaging with influencers within my industry to grow my own personal influence and social clout was also strategic. My third highest performance post (C) utilized the hashtag “#WhoBitBeyonce”. This hashtag started trending after Tiffany Haddish “leaked” a story with media outlets alleging that another celebrity had an unwelcome exchange with the pop star. At the same time, there was a gif that was trending on the internet. It depicted a mannequin which appeared to be sleeping. The head would whip around and then return back to it’s sleeping position. I captured imaged from the gif and creates a collage. I wanted to create a meme that demonstrated my reaction to hearing the news.
A.
"Wretch around and wrench it off" #SouthernSiriSays @RealDLHughley #comedy pic.twitter.com/hRqtaxQuKe
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) February 26, 2018
Impressions: 13827; Engagements: 308; Retweets: 19; Replies: 8; Likes: 93; URL clicks: 14; Hashtag clicks: 11; Detail Expands: 43; Media Views: 106; Media Engagement: 106.
B.
My professor and advisor @bwerde has NEVER lied. https://t.co/MYLRMEaFDk
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) April 16, 2018
Impressions: 3021; Engagements: 27; Retweets: 1; Replies: 0; Likes: 6; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 1; Media Views: 0; Media Engagement: 0.
C.
Somebody bit #Beyonce
Me:#WhoBitBeyonce pic.twitter.com/9JPyCQYqcE
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) March 26, 2018
Impressions: 1568; Engagements: 138; Retweets: 3; Replies: 0; Likes: 5; URL clicks: 1; Hashtag clicks: 12; Detail Expands: 6; Media Views: 111; Media Engagement: 111.
Part 1: Influence
Twitter Follower Growth:
- January 18th-April 19th: 27 to 121 (Up 94)
Klout Score Change:
- January 22nd-April 19th: 18-50 (Up 32)
Part 2: Execution
#1
Check out my on air debut! We killed it tonight on @z89thejuice radio show. @Z89radio is lit every Saturday night with all the new #HipHopmusic and #hiphopnews. 7-9pm #NHsmtp https://t.co/mNYAUg2nUJ
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) January 28, 2018
Impressions: 317; Engagements: 9; Retweets: 1; Replies: 0; Likes: 3; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 4; Media Views: 0; Media Engagement: 0.
#2
I love me some @S_C_!! Recently gave a shoutout to @VanJones68 and @angela_rye for #FollowFriday. Birds of a feather. I will be tuned in. #NHsmtp #VanJonesShow #BlackExcellence https://t.co/ys3cqr6ogX
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) January 27, 2018
Impressions: 288; Engagements: 6; Retweets: 1; Replies: 0; Likes: 1; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 4; Media Views: 0; Media Engagement: 0.
#3
🚨#letsargue 🚨
Out of these four, who is the best #Rappers turned #actors? 🤔#FilmTwitter #BlackTwitter #music #movies #rapmusic #NHsmtp pic.twitter.com/1pK2rZchmq
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) February 14, 2018
Impressions: 273; Engagements: 17; Retweets: 0; Replies: 2; Likes: 1; URL clicks: 2; Hashtag clicks: 1; Detail Expands: 0; Media Views: 10; Media Engagement: 10.
#4
Well I'll be!! @jadapsmith finds a way to speak about #BlackWomen w/o actually saying "Black". Smh. The lengths we go to just to be palatable! Never mind that the argument is sound and the point is valid. @moworldwide They don't hear you tho. 🤦🏾♀️ #BlackExcellence #NHsmtp https://t.co/1fJNPQvXs4
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) January 25, 2018
Impressions: 271; Engagements: 2; Retweets: 1; Replies: 0; Likes: 0; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 0; Media Views: 0; Media Engagement: 0.
#5
"Build your tribe, nurture your community and stop acting like a corporate sales machine." Don't forget the "social" aspect of social media. #socialmediamarketing #cyberpr #NHsmtp https://t.co/BzrHCrXyl7
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) January 30, 2018
Impressions: 255; Engagements: 3; Retweets: 0; Replies: 0; Likes: 1; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 0; Media Views: 0; Media Engagement: 0.
#6
PEOPLE BE LYING!! (#NHsmtp)
This "box o' food" proposal sounds like sanctioned genocide. #GOP say #WelfareReform is necessary because #FoodStamps and #SNAP is overrun with fraud.Me: pic.twitter.com/6nCYSYE9Tx
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) February 15, 2018
Impressions: 219; Engagements: 14; Retweets: 0; Replies: 1; Likes: 0; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 5; Media Views: 28; Media Engagement: 8.
#7
My professor is better than yours! 🤷🏾♀️😂 @jmgrygiel This is going to be fun. #NHsmtp #NewhouseSU #NHMasters17
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) January 20, 2018
Impressions: 208; Engagements: 2; Retweets: 0; Replies: 0; Likes: 1; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 0; Media Views: 0; Media Engagement: 0.
#8
"Between the amount of information that we'll give them and the amount of love….they'll be alright." I love @S_C_!! Excellent job @VanJones68. #KendrickLamar ✊🏾#NHsmtp https://t.co/rV936SEXWR
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) January 28, 2018
Impressions: 186; Engagements: 0; Retweets: 0; Replies: 0; Likes: 0; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 0; Media Views: 0; Media Engagement: 0.
#9
#NationalPeanutButterLoversDay #Food #NHsmtp
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!! https://t.co/NHBV6wSjaU via @YouTube
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) March 1, 2018
Impressions: 169; Engagements: 1; Retweets: 0; Replies: 0; Likes: 1; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 0; Media Views: 0; Media Engagement: 0.
#10
Each morning I wake up; in the meantime and between time; before my kiss goodnight; current news across industries and humor; facebook baby; evolving twitter; posts i can stand by. #NHsmtp #socialmedia #habits
— Eveny Parker (@Evdparker) January 22, 2018
Impressions: 160; Engagements: 3; Retweets: 0; Replies: 0; Likes: 0; URL clicks: 0; Hashtag clicks: 0; Detail Expands: 0; Media Views: 0; Media Engagement: 0.
Part 3: Summary of Strategies
A huge part of growing my social media influence was taking advantage of the “social” aspect. I stopped using social platforms as my personal scrapbook. Instead, I sought out people and companies that interest me professionally as well as news outlets to keep me updates on current events. Posts #1 and #2 are examples of quote tweets. Quotes tweeting was one strategy I used to amplify voices of others. Two political commentators I particularly like are Van Jones and Angela Rye so I wanted to share their voices with my followers while at the same time commenting on it. Adding my comment felt like a way to demonstrate that I have a position and can provide thoughtful dialogue around a topic. Later on, I tried to “retweet” more and “quote tweet” because of the fact that QTing hijacks the thread from the original poster.
Another strategy I used to increase my influence was adding videos, gifs and photos. I used this strategy in posts in #9, #6 and #3. The point of incorporating photos, gifs and videos is to increase media richness. Also, adding this extra media allows for my post to take up more real estate in feeds and gives the reader a visual prompt as to my attitude toward a topic. These posts are also examples of utilizing trending hashtags. (i.e. #NationalPeanutButterLoversDay and #WelfareReform)
The strategies I relied on mostly were increasing media richness and incorporating hashtags. Being aware of trending topics and hashtags allowed me to show up in feeds and therefore be a part of larger conversations. Also, I realized how important it was to utilize hashtags even if they weren’t trending because hashtags allow you find your audience as well as allow your specific audience to find you. Prior to this course, I used Facebook almost exclusively and therefore didn’t really use hashtags. On Facebook, people generally used really long hashtags that basically double downed on their post. For example: #dontcomeformeunlessIsendforyou. Therefore, it took a couple of weeks for me to understand that hashtags could (and should) be used a lot more strategically to really amplify your posts and increase the potential audience. I learned that our social clout is not just a reflection of who we are personally and what we post. Our clout is effected by our followers, their clout in addition to the type of content you post. While not some of my best performing posts, I did increase the number and types of articles I shared on social media. Especially on Instagram, I saw an increase in followers and engagement because of reposts. I shared a lot of posts about #brandpartnerships (i.e Beyoncé and Google, Serena Williams and Lincoln, Rae Sremmurd and Reebok), videos that explained business (i.e. Steve Stout explains keeping markets separate in order to charge consumers twice) and motivational videos (Mike Tyson discusses not believing in talent; dedication and discipline matter more). I find that I enjoy sharing informative content. Honestly it feels good to know that I am a source for entertainment news and updates for my community. Also, it’s nice letting my audience know who I am and what I do without continuously posting about myself.