Jeannette Marshall : 20K and 200K and GROWING

This is where it all started.

On this blog: optioneerJM. Now my memory is murky after spending a good four months longer at Linked In. This was in 2010 of March. That's one thing I like most of the social media platforms I use: to have some sort of reference to the date you initially joined.

Back then, sounding so ancient of times, there weren't many analytics out there. Except for Google, who knew they had uncovered a secret power by gathering the information for each user into data that could be divisible by quadrants or eighths. I instinctively went with Google. Thinking, if they are (this was 2010, I know, eons ago) the key central place that people turn to right off, without hesitation people look to Google and use Google as much as they do their email server.

I think I started this blog in 2011. Just thinking off the cuff. I was a dedicated Linked In user. Just gobbling up information and storing it away. As a natural communicator, story teller (some say that is long winded, tell that to so many of the others that can process information so quickly and then exude it in a calm, poised, professional manner. Yes, I'm very fortunate.

So, there I am. The keener of keeners. When or if WIKIpedia has the word keener, they must surely have me as an example. i.e. Jeannette is such a keener about ..... trying something new, gathering information while sifting out the garbage, when she's onto something she in the gung in gungho (I'm cringing a little because I'm afraid it is some swear word in a different language).

I'm on Linked In with fascination. WOW, you just see people you know from your career filter across your path or you stumble upon them yourself. I so DID become an evangelist of Linked In. Even if I worked longer hours (could be up to 16) I could come home, be challenged, think more curiously, learn new information by logging on there.

Tres coolio when I was able to reconnect with the Exec VP and marketing manager and my main ad agent in Toronto. To my horror, he told me that he'd been screwed out of (for emphasis) most of the amounts owed him for his ad sales. I know. Terrible. Especially since I hired him. Again, you have to be trust worthy in order to give off the vibe you are trustworthy.

Exchanging updates with former colleagues became the order of the day. Then Recommendations, Endorsements, then reading only premiere influencer blogs back in the day.

While at the same time, you could join groups, around topics you felt comfortable around. For me, it was digital printing and sales. There was only one digital printing group 6 years ago, but oodles of sales groups with different names.

As a self-described knowledge junkie, I started to read a lot of the questions in those few groups. Right, climate change was the third. See how little has changed? The part of the questions that was brilliant was you could read others answers. Some just knew were blowhards, while some were quite quite smart. I would reach out and connect with those that were talented, many entrepreneurs launching new business ventures, was a natural curiosity to satisfy.

Gregarious by nature, I jumped in to the fray by answering questions based on my own experience. I would have to say, sales by far with a hang out for Digital Printing who are really smart people. They were back then what app developers or mobility are to us now, smart phones. Look up!! (Someone should invent a headband that prevents you from bowing your head to read your smartphone to look importantly scanning before you run into a mailbox or a street post).

This week, so a week after the Notification, Quora notified me that I was the MOST VIEWED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT WRITER .... can you believe that? Aint that amazing? Well, pat yourself on your own back. If you are here, reading this, you had some part in it in some way.

If you want to try something as you get older, ref. MEANDERINGSabout.blogspot.ca (see sidebar) you may read up on it first instead of just going and doing it or buying the gear first. Anyone in their 40s and beyond, will take more time to buy something by reading up about it, looking for reviews.

Well, I seem to have really enjoyed writing. The little nudges like hitting over 200,000 page views in 6 years. That's one of the disadvantages of not owning your own website and history of analytics. I can see what the most popular posts or trending posts are. That has been a cool development. Don't get me started on my annoyance that they goofed up majorly on the sidebar layouts ... that has been down a good month and I've even went to their resources, looked for help, and still notta.

After folks in LinkedIN SALES group kept asking me: Do you have a Blog? I was kinda guffawed, honoured, humbled. Then got on it. Not fearful of what lay ahead, not overly confident with technology, but a KEANER to the core. To this day, two of my most read blogs were created in the first few. So here we are.

Together from 0 to 20,000
are my Twitter followers. Thank you. And props to Twitter for helping cast out a very wide net to filter out garbage and only fall upon refined, intelligent, humour writers, artists, cartoonist, imagineers.

So, if you really want my advice on how to sell or use social media, it falls upon similar statistics in all sorts of real life examples, except the top 10% are the best with the 90% being the masses. Typically, the 80/20 rule is a principle used by default: in my case it is 90% of my followers are just that while the 10% are actively engaged. We exchange information, and have developed a virtual friendship, lending each other support and assistance. Strengthening the 90/10 bond.

While the numbers over 200K amaze me, I come up with a few more questions. How did others get over 20 million page views? I guess I'm on track for more experiments, more self serving investigation of facts, with written observances that I write on optioneerJM.

Sometimes we can be so data focus that we can lose sight of what is important. I noticed that there was a lot of traction when I wrote about social media so I detoured and muddied the waters by writing blogs on social media.

Linked In has other uses. As a blogger, a specific post can inspire me to comment, and then want to comment some more, resulting in a blog post on the very same topic. Possibly others use Linked In conversations gained by posts to inspire a dedicated blog. Every once in a while, you may even find a more popular writer, take the morsel of an idea and expand on it with their own perspective. It can mean a larger conversation because of that person's notoriety and reach numbers. Most times, they won't acknowledge where they got the idea to write from.

Integrity
is important to me. Without those around me to inspire me to write more and who's trust I value. It's important to me to acknowledge where I got the idea to write, if it is a Linked In post and by whom. Or expanded upon a comment from an article I read. That is the right thing to do. The biggies could claim that they're too busy or not acknowledge where they got the idea on their post from.

Nugget
An idea begins with a nugget of an idea that bursts forth. Or, one just decides that they have something more to say. That's fine. That's a personal decision whether you share some of the glory. To me, it reinforces the fact that I am surrounded by a great number of talented people who inspire me and encourage me to stretch myself to reach new heights.

Quora
If you like to test your acumen on any number of topics, this is where you may want to consider signing up for. You can be narrow in scope or wide in interests. Quora, too, has evolved over the past 6 years to provide more value to its subscribers. You can post blogs there. There aren't any rules that it can't be blogged elsewhere. What is magnificent is that you can carve a niche on a specific topic that interests you.

Engagement
The value of any social media platform is determined by the engagement you encounter. For example, if someone likes your answers, you may find that they follow you. That means, any time you post an answer, it can fall into the radar of your followers.

Rewards
Quora rewards your answers by allowing others to UPVOTE your answer. This symbol of solidarity is now common elsewhere: think REDDIT. You could go on and on and comment or answer a multitude of questions. However, others will shift over to you based on your answers taking it further by following you on Quora, and then reaching out to connect on the other networks. That's where I term engagement.

Engagement
On social media can mean that what you've written or posted has peaked the interest of someone else, they may be compelled to UPVOTE you, but the charm is when they want to follow you or even better get to know you better by seeing what you are saying elsewhere like Facebook or Twitter.

Expertise
Is an irritant for a lot of people. So many cloud the word with self-proclaimed 'expert' on any number of topics. Expert is something others call your or use to describe you. It isn't something anyone should take on themselves.

Credibility
can be reinforced when your name crops up on lists. What you will discover often is that it is a CLUB or circle of people who constantly recognize each other, share each other's content. That's great. It can help build your credibility online because others determine what topics they like to hear from you on. Any assignment of "expertise" is best referenced to i.e. KLOUT gives credence by cleverly using its algorithm to show what topics people tend to click on from your posts. After a while, they will give recognition to you after a reasonable amount of time. I miss their invitations to answer questions which you can leverage to show your knowledge. Instead, they evolved into sharing content.

Invitation to Answer Questions
Thankfully Quota has enhanced this area. I was tickled pink when asked a specific question on sales. What snowballed is that people liked the answers and invited you to answer a specific question.

Evolution
Every social media platform is a service to its members. There is a lot of competition out there for grabbing audience share. They've had to stop the razzle dazzle of technological antics and redirect to finding ways to bring value to its subscribers. In other words, return again and again.

Revenue
The most challenging part about social media platforms is generating cash. Now they have to be accountable for bringing in money to cover their costs. As they mushroom in size, it means adding more talented people. They have to solve the problem of how not only do they entice the most talented, but also how to retain them, avoiding any exodus to a competitor.

Shareholders
are a finicky bunch. What is popular today may be last week's news tomorrow. The challenge, in my opinion, to social media sites is creating revenue streams. By default they resort to inserting adver- tising, that are annoying and distracting to their end users. Have you ever left using a site because you were irritated enough that these distractions inhibited any momentum you had by stopping everything to show you an ad.

Advertisements
are becoming more and more invasive. Along with giving others control of your interests by where or how you click, they are now pushing ads in your face midstream.

Value proposition
To decrease the disruption of advertisements which is usually needed to create cash, social media networks are challenged to increase value to its audience.

Level playing field
Back in the day of magazine advertising sales, I was taught the basics of analytics. Forcing organizations to provide the burden of proof that they have the audience they say they have.

Treasure for others
The burden of proof to satisfy or really justify why you charge this much for that thing. Very few organizations arrive on the scene being able to charge high end prices. What magically seems to appear on the scene, takes years to evolve.

Justification
Back in media, you have to prove how many viewers you have, then be able to provide finite detail based on the time of day, the geographical location, the topic interest. Then it becomes more complicated.

Audience size
is the basic starting point for any offering online. The burden of proof to substantiate and back up your claims is more lenient. However, as more services emerge to solve this dilemma, creating opportunity.

KLOUT
was the subject of a lot of debate five years ago when it went through adjusting people's numbers, usually be at least 25 points. Looking back now, it is reasonable to think that it was based on discovering that they had to distinguish the top echelon that was becoming crowded. Lots of people became disgruntled when their number decline, which is normal in a results driven world. Likely, they noticed that it was the biggest brands and Lady Gaga crowding the top spots. Hardly fair, if you were Joe Everybody. How could you differentiate yourself from others who called themselves an expert in a field?

Because I said so
was not an answer we ever liked when it came from a parent or authority. Our logic rebelled at such a blank statement. The same has become of anyone wanting to claim superiority in anything. Only Steve Jobs is recognized for getting away with that. Even Mark Zuckenberg cannot get away with that statement.

Proof
The burden of proof is bestowed upon anyone claiming any one thing. The days of believing everything that is posted are gone. People have become skeptical on the reliability of what they read online. They want to know why a brand can claim they have the best taste, the biggest network, the answer to a major problem. Case in point with the US Elections. Trump has to keep demonstrating that he's not a scoundrel while Clinton has to show why you should trust her.

Cool things
are emerging now as the burden of proof more relevant. Twitter went public and shareholders bought in to the value of their traffic and audience.

Return on investment
ROI is return on investment. Social media, readership, viewers all want to feel justify in investing their money or time on a specific item.

Value
is the name of the game. In sales, in sophisticated environments, you have to be able to justify that in exchange for this dollar (or dollars), I can expect a reasonable return on the investment. Twitter is the subject of debate: was the cost justified by value? The onus is on brands to provide value added services or knowledge in order for consumers or sophisticated buyers need backup to reinforce their decision.

Innovation
seems to be what drives value. Google is a favorite example of mine. They constantly evolve, are never static and stretch themselves to innovate while using the information at their disposal.

Data
the race is on. We hear about cloud, data, all the time. The average audience member doesn't understand what the fuss is all about and most don't care. I've predicted that the race for data is a fierce and competitive one. Organizations have to prove that they have reliable data and the burden to show that it is authentic has become more important. People will not waste their time nor their dollars on falsehoods. Audiences, whether by clicks or purchase, are wiser. They try to dodge the tricks and pitfalls of falling prey to being a number that represents their opinions.

Brand Ambassadors
surface. The easy ones are celebrities like Katy Perry endorsing beauty products. She is paid a fee not only for being in ads, but also for her tweets to promote the product. Not fair to the average Joe or Josephine.

Influencer
has become an identity that many claim. However, like KLOUT, if you're not Katy Perry, you need proof. There are services and software and APPS that are driven to solve this problem: to distinguish the average person from a celebrity who is paid based on their image or talent?

Actions
drive proof. You can implode on the scene when you make a statement or observation that resonates with a large audience. The actions they take are:

They follow you (whether it be on Twitter or Facebook)
They subscribe to your blog
They add your website to their favorites in acknowledgement that you are a source of information that others trust.
They click on what you share. They like it and the very few are compelled to comment.

Followers
can be a decoy. You'd think that shear numbers would satisfy proof. That is not always so. That is because others have claimed the opportunity to sell followers to boost your numbers and increase your followers. That can be misleading because someone who has a large following, does not necessarily mean that they are influential.

Interactions
with people are a strong indication that you've at least gained others' curiosity. Making false or objectionable comments or tweets can rile people up. That can certainly increase interaction and create viral conversations, camaraderie with others who agree with your stand.

Controversy
sells or creates more interaction or instigates more clicks. Compare Peirs Morgan with Donald Trump and it should demonstrate that although taking a stand on a sensitive topic can increase clicks or comments, it shows that it can also be detrimental to your career and reputation. The Donald fuels controversy for more views, draws people and media to look to see what crazy thing he is Tweeting. Discussion unfold on the credibility. Piers Morgan used his position on CNN to create a platform to increase Twitter followers based on the very controversial "gun control" debate. Sure, he was able to provide proof and even substantiate his statements with examples.

EGO
can also be destructive. Using Morgan as an example, he cared too much about how many Twitter followers he had. That was his measurement stick.

Popularity
in a topic whether controversial or inspirational is the divisible factor. Morgan started to believe his own hype and influence as his Twitter audience grew. He misunderstood the power CNN gave him.

Power
is wielded the same way online as in real life. Power goes to those that others believe more willingly and then like a lost sheep. Morgan misread his numbers to signify power. He soon found out that his stand gave him a wide berth to an audience. What he failed to recognize was that it was the path to his demise.

Don't believe your own press
is a caution to be applied. Take each bright light or positive sign to inspire and motivate you to continue to thrive in the spotlight, which is more lasting if it is full of optimism or positive messaging or authority.

Authority
is a fine line between expertise. Only others can distinguish you by being an authority on something. Where you are, what you say, is reinforced by the power you wield that inspires people to click or share.

Finish Line
There is no finish line or ending on social media. You have to continually reinforce your knowledge, justify that reward.

Lists
are great. I love lists. I click on links from lists because I am driven by curiosity. Only things like "Black's Worst Dressed" lists or People's "Most Beautiful People" have been around for years. Not everyone agrees with the selection, sometimes it creates controversy and rebuff. Yet by their longevity they are awarded recognition on being an authority. Others like to create lists that include their fanbase or connections to increase clicks.

Click bait
Is a term I only became familiar with only recently. How wise that someone figured out a way to decry those who are adept at posting or sharing something that generates clicks. When it fails on authenticity or creates doubt, it fails quickly. Smart people intuitively recognize click bait when they see it.

Skeptics
surface everywhere these days on social media. Intelligent people are not fooled by others easily. I'm trusting by nature. Yet I don't believe everything anyone says, I like back up. I hate seeing lists whereby the listee is a means to attract more viewers, creates an false sense of expertise that they don't possess.

Scratch my back
and I'll scratch your's is a reasonable exchange. If you help others and support what you believe are worthwhile, you can acknowledge others' accomplishments. Like real life, if you do it expecting something in return, then social media can be disappointing.

There are no rules
except the rules established today or in the moment. That is the cool part of social media. You can see what is going on by looking at what is trending.

Paid versus organic
In the quest to create revenue streams, companies will pay to place themselves on your radar. Conveniently placed based on your clicks or views. That's fair. It is the world you create. Companies need results fast.

Justification
of how money is spent is important. Patience is not a thing that someone or some company needs to have when their very survival depends on audience size.

Twitter
is continuously evolving to justify the value they bring those who will pay to be placed on TRENDING topics. Skeptics or realists can distinguish paid for click from organic clicks.

Organic
is how I've gone. Learning as I go along, attracting talent to interact with, click on their information because I've decided they are authentic and have a certain amount of expertise. For example, I was tickled pink when the weatherman from our local CTV television followed me, even exchanging messages on Twitter (he's who taught me the term click bait). Except, I don't go to David Spense for what is going on in Calgary, my home city. I will seek him out if I'm looking for the weather forecast, not wanting to wait or be bothered to wait for the news to see what he has to say.

On target
Like I don't go to a weather expert about what is going on with Calgary, I go to look for it from someone I've decided seems to have their finger on the pulse.

Viral versus organic
One is fast, the other slow. Lots try to play with it. Trying to create something viral is a goal for a brand or ad agency, using sophisticated means and endless resources. The average person does not have a bottomless money pit (neither do Brands, they just have a better way to justify the ROI for the use of that investment). The average person has to grow organically.

Tricks
abound. Without the drive to increase an audience or generate sales revenue streams, with the support of shear numbers, cause others to try tricks to attract clicks or increase audience size. They are usually short sighted and short term. The intelligence of people is disregarded and can have averse impact when it is uncovered.

Why be on Twitter?
Was a question I was invited to answer on Quora. As Quora evolves to become more authentic and provide value, they initially allowed members to invite others to answer questions.

One entity's junk can be another's treasure
Quora scooped up a thing that Klout had a while back: asking those they recognized as having expertise on a topic to answer questions. Quora has improved its information to zero in on authenticity and credibility. Now they do the inviting to ANSWER questions that their members ask, to boost the return to their value added service. Just because Klout decided to shelf this area, Quora had the ideal environment to use it.

Live streaming
Twitter is on the news today because of the buzz surrounding the streaming of live NFL games. Skeptics would respond that YouTube has been providing that for forever. Media outlets have created specialized APPS: think the Rio Olympic coverage. They wanted to create and capture viewers interested in watching the Olympics.

Convenience
is a readiness to provide people with the information they may be looking for before they even realize they will be looking for it. Those are the clever ones.

Destination
Organizations that can be credited with and recognized as a destination source for information is what distinguishes the greats from the good enoughs. There are many examples out there of brain childs that fell to the wayside while others scooped up those morsels, adopted it as their own, and expanded and IMPROVED what the forefathers missed.

Specialization
becomes distinct whether you want to be a central source for information that allows you to provide information for free, credibility reinforced by facts and objective in the presentation of information.

Fact checking
was only something I experienced with magazines. They employ people to review an article and source the quotes, cross-referenceable by facts.

Authenticity
is not something you can trust or develop over night. It grows organically or is fast tracked depending on your resources. Sometimes it needs BETA testers and other times leverage influencers authority to speed it up. Authenticity begets the authentic. Trust and specialization develops. Think MASHABLE. They are the evolution of information and news and being a source for what is cool, unique, entertaining, informative.

Quora asked me to answer
a question a user asked: why should you be on Twitter? I'm sure that a lot of people and brands ask this very question. Quora hasn't recognized me as a voice on social media, but they did ask me anyhow. Probably buried somewhere was some analytics that test the authenticity of the voice or the person they ask having some sort of authority based on what people click on or whom. This was my answer:

Q: Why do people get interested in Twitter?
A: Imagine casting a net and catching followers who mirror your interests or provide knowledge on Twitter. It compliments any personal or corporate branding by providing messaging, quotes, images that allow one to gain audience from others you would not ordinarily attract.

Here are some more questions
I've been asked on Quora. I have the sense that I am being asked more and more for my opinion of a variety of answers to questions. Certainly, from my answers, upvotes, clicks is showing Quora more areas for me to answer that may encourage others to view the questions and answers, encourage asking more questions, increase the value to their members.

140 AnswersMost Recent / 30-Day Views

How do people get their Instagram public profile to show up in Google's results?

Jeannette Marshall, Avid social media evangelist, blogger, 20K Followers on Twitter, 72 KLOUT

20K and 200K and GROWING

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