I can't believe we are in the last few weeks of summer. Where did the time go? As we get ready to wrap up Summer 2013, I'm also coming to the end of my summer blog series, "Tell Me... How Did You Get Into Television?" and "Tell Me...How Did You Get Into Social Media?" A BIG thank you to everyone who took time to share their professional stories on Ready4Air. I'm hoping you were inspired.
Our final guest post this summer comes from media maven Suncera Johnson. She's a writer, producer, journalist, author, a fixture at New York television studios, and in board rooms where decisions are made. After a layoff, she reinvented herself and became deeply immersed in the world of Social Media. Her digital "life-cycle" includes experiences with You Tube coupled with real world television production that gives her an edge ahead of the competition. Now meet Suncera.
How Did You Get Into Social Media?
After a layoff from MTV, I found that I needed to reinvent
myself. I wanted to find a way to
incorporate my passion with my work.
Writing is what drives me, so I chose the name @thatwritingchic and got
on twitter. I started tweeting,
initially as a part of Wyclef Jean’s Warriors movement and helped him get to a
million twitter followers as part of a collective. About the same time, I decided to start a
Blogtalk Radio show and used my twitter timeline to promote it. I started tweeting “Dear God”, inspirational
messages to get MY day started and people started following me. One day, I didn’t tweet and people were
asking where I was. I got the bug and
have been tweeting ever since. I
continued by transitioning some of my social media audience to my radio show
and I learned how valuable social media was in developing relationships. Every
writing gig I have ever gotten, I got on social media.
What’s your job title today and what are your job
responsibilities?
As CEO of amass digital, I oversee and steer various aspects
of the Digital Life Cycle for my clients.
Simply put, I assist people in the digital space with development, production,
promotion and advertising of digital content.
Social media plays a crucial role in getting eyes on the content. Currently, we service JAY Z’s Life+Times and
LIVES with Meredith Vieira, both YouTube
Channels, in the capacity of Digital PR, in addition to overseeing social media
strategy for Meredith’s YouTube Channel, to be launched on September 9th, with
a few more clients in negotiations to be added to our roster.
Social Media is constantly changing. Tell me what changes
you like and changes that you don't like.
I like that Social Media is constantly finding ways to make
people more connected, more sociable. What concerns me most is the constantly
evolving platforms to chose from and the
reporting associated with them. It
becomes difficult to measure Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and to
distinguish which metrics matter most.
How many social media platforms are you on, what's your
favorite and why?
Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram and FourSquare. To optimize my time and maximize reporting, I
use a combination of Social Media tools such as Wildfire, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck,
Tweetreach, Klout and Kred. Twitter is
my favorite. I like the instant
interaction and I REALLY enjoy live tweeting during television shows. I have met so many people from Twitter in
real life and some are now friends. In
fact, I landed a Writing/Producing gig on a television show from someone who
had begun following me when a celebrity told everyone else to follow me because
of my “Dear God” tweets.
Most people think social media is overwhelming and time
consuming. What two words would you use to describe the social media
industry and why?
Powerful and Effective. Just look at how long it took for the Juror in George Zimmerman’s case to
have her book offer rescinded and how quickly Russell Simmons took down his
offensive Harriet Tubman video. Social
Media has the unique ability to have messages travel worldwide in an instant.
If you could go back and say anything to yourself when you
first got into social media what would it be?
Read, read and read more. Get a really concise RSS feed set up, so that it’s easy to favorite
articles you may want to read later. Don’t be afraid to search out and try various tools. Take the time to sort between various options
and embrace the ability to brand yourself freely on social media.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned during your
years in social media?
The most important thing that I have learned is that not
every statement requires a response.
There are times that I will post a comment about a trending topic,
current event, etc. It took a while, but
I’ve come to value the block button on twitter. Sometimes 140 characters is not enough and other times, after reviewing
the respondents' profile, I realize it’s best not to give them shine on my
timeline.
What are your top tips for surviving in social media?
Be authentic. If you
say you do social media, I am expecting to see it in your timeline and I want
to see some results. I don’t have to
know your name, but I should be able to find your most notable work and some
measure of your reach.
Practice reciprocity.
Don’t ask people to support you if you aren’t willing to support
them. If you are like-minded and share
similar interests, people are more likely to support your campaigns. If you are relying solely on your family and
friends to get out the word about your brand on social media, you have a lot of
work to do in finding and developing your audience.
Be SOCIABLE! No one
wants to see constant promotion of your product, no matter how good it is no
more than you want to be spammed constantly with their product. Again, know who your audience is and
communicate with them without promoting all the time.
One of the main things that people should know about social media is that it is designed primarily for people to engage with one another. In my opinion, someone who has an audience of 300 and is actively engaged with their audience is far more effective than someone who has amassed an audience of 3 million and does nothing more than speak TO them, instead of speaking WITH them.
One of the main things that people should know about social media is that it is designed primarily for people to engage with one another. In my opinion, someone who has an audience of 300 and is actively engaged with their audience is far more effective than someone who has amassed an audience of 3 million and does nothing more than speak TO them, instead of speaking WITH them.
How and when do you unplug from social media?
YIKES. Me UNPLUG from
social media? LOL. I’ve never really thought about it. I have Twitter and Facebook on my phone and
Social Media for me has become a way to do business as well as communicate with
friends. I live tweet during television
and don’t have a set time to unplug, however, when I am spending time with my
family or when I am out with friends, I can unplug. Unless, I see them pull out their phone
first!
If you had to give up two social media platforms which ones
could you live without?
WOW. I guess of those that I have mentioned, Foursquare. Of those that I rarely use, Pinterest.
WOW. I guess of those that I have mentioned, Foursquare. Of those that I rarely use, Pinterest.
What is one piece of advice you want to pass along to
someone else who is considering entering the world of social media today?
Immerse yourself into the social media community by
following mavens like @jeffbullas, @warrenwhitlock, @kimgarst, @lilachbullock and pros like @garyhyman. I learn so much from them on a daily basis.
####
Thanks Suncera!
Under the pseudonym @thatwritingchic, Suncera has penned three e-books designed to help you get connected, break into television and put your best foot forward in pitching yourself or product to anyone. Our readers get specially discounted pricing of $19.99 for the complete combo pack.
Thanks Suncera!
Under the pseudonym @thatwritingchic, Suncera has penned three e-books designed to help you get connected, break into television and put your best foot forward in pitching yourself or product to anyone. Our readers get specially discounted pricing of $19.99 for the complete combo pack.
Learn more about amass digital at www.amassdigital.com/
 |
| Photo Credit: Debbie Mitchell |
TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is an Emmy nominated producer who is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA). She is currently a member of the James Beard Broadcast and New Media Awards Committee. If you are a brand interested in "Book Case TV", Social TV, blogger outreach campaigns, or a blogger or personality interested in television placement follow Debbie Mitchell @SocialTVDeb and/or email SocialTVDeb@gmail.com. Watch her video segments on YouTube.
More Ready4Air 2013 Summer Blog Series
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