Why I only Use Twitter and Instagram

If you watch my videos on YouTube or listen to my podcast you’ll know that even though I have multiple social media accounts the only 2 I really use are Instagram and Twitter. To be honest it’s more of a preference thing but it’s also about other factors.
 
A common misconception is that you have to be on every social media platform there is. Though that may be true to an extent I believe that what’s more important is to utilize what social media platforms you are on to its full potential. Sorta like a zone defense approach vs. a shotgun approach. Let me explain a little more in depth.
 
 
The point of my social media accounts is mostly for business and sharing my personal journey as an entrepreneur. My accounts have purpose driven goals behind them, it’s just just a personal account. I use social media differently from the average person. That being said, I wanted to be realistic with how I can achieve social media goals. One of those ways is consistency. I know that the main way to be consistent on social media is to actually enjoy using the platform. If you don’t open the app every day, scratch that – multiple times a day, then you probably won’t make much of a dent.
 
It’s crazy that the above statement is our reality, but it’s true. We see so much information flash before our eyes on a daily basis that it’s really hard to fully absorb any of it. Nowadays people are use to quick 1 minute/to-the-point type content. What that means for those trying to grow their social media platforms is you’ve got to be ready to post, post often, and add value every time you post. What do I mean by “add value?”The goal is sharing; which should be the goal of every social media account regardless if it’s business or personal. By posting, how are you going to enrich your followers lives? There is a difference between sharing and promoting. The more you share, the more you give, the more true to yourself, the more value you give to your followers. Trust me, it works.
 
Now to the big question, why only Twitter and Instagram?
 
I mainly use Instagram and Twitter for social media because I truly enjoy and use these 2 platforms. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a Facebook, LinkedIn, and SnapChat account. I just don’t really use them, which means I also don’t promote them. I do, however, claim my usernames/accounts on new platforms for sake of consistency. That way if I decide to use it in the future, I have no trouble getting the “JustKissa” username I have for most of my social media accounts. 
 
Also, I don’t use all my accounts the same way. I strategically chose these 2 platforms for a reason, mainly being that they’re very different.
 
As much as possible I try to create unique content for each platform. I’m not really big on the idea of copying the same content onto all platforms (but I do admittedly still do this on some platforms that I don’t use often. I need to make it a point to stop lol!) The good thing is Twitter and Instagram are very different at its most basic function. I mainly use Twitter to share random thoughts and written posts and I use Instagram for photo and video based posts. Even if I post the same topic on each platform I won’t just copy and paste. For example, if I post a video of some family photos I put up on Instagram Stories I won’t just copy and paste the caption onto Twitter. I’ll share the same topic on Twitter but with a different approach like a photo or write about the meaning of the family photos. Ya feel me?
 
No matter what social media platforms you use, maybe you use a few or maybe you use all of them, my one piece of advice is to be consistent. Make it part of your day, show people what you’re up to, and don’t be afraid to be authentically yourself. You don’t need to broadcast everything about your life, I don’t. I’m actually a very private person. But the idea of social media is exactly that – to socialize on media. Create conversations and share with your audience; maintain that line of communication. Keep it open so they feel like you’re there for them and they can relate to you.
 
So if you haven’t already, let’s talk! Let’s socialize! Follow me on Instagram and Twitter 🙂
 
xoxo,
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How Ninong’s Grew our Instagram Following Organically

I wish I knew more about social media. Getting older, it makes it harder for me to keep up with the new trends out there. There’s always something new – a new app, an new upgrade, new features and changes being made to social media platforms.

During my live stream with Heather last week they asked me how Ninong’s grew our Instagram following. Full disclosure, it’s not like our following grew overnight. But! They’re organic followers which means real people, real likes, real comments.


So, why did we choose Instagram? Well for one, Ninong’s is on almost every popular social media outlet. You name it – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, etc. But Instagram is where we saw the most engagement, it’s where we got the most traffic, it’s where we can control the conversation. Not to mention, 59% of the users on Instagram are our key demographic.

Why don’t we do all social media channels? For Ninong’s, it’s important for our brand message to be personal. Our brand story focuses on the idea of a family business/restaurant and inviting people to our “house” to eat. When you dine at our establishment, you’re eating recipes created by my aunt, my mom, my husband, etc. Our social media presence had to be us, not anyone else. Instagram allowed us to do that. We did try to do all the popular social media outlets, but because we’re a small operation we were forced to realize that it takes a lot of time and energy to do social media right. It turned out to be the biggest blessing in disguise. When we decided that focusing on 1 social media channel and doing it well was going to be our focus we saw consistent growth. We’re averaging about 20 new followers a week. I know it’s great to have a presence on all outlets. But don’t forget, if you don’t put shareable, useful, relatable, and authentic content on each channel then don’t do it. Don’t put 50% effort into something, you gotta go all in. 100%. That’s an entrepreneur’s golden rule with anything we do.

Now that we figured out why, let’s figure out what.

What did we do to grow our reach on Instagram? Well first, we had to identify our signature product and ask questions about it. This isn’t just beneficial for social media, it’s important for your business period. I know you want to cater to everyone, that you want your product or service to have a wide reach. We wanted that too. But that’s where we made a mistake. Cast a smaller net, really get detailed about your target market. The wider reach will come, trust me.


So, for our restaurant’s sake, our signature product is Ube Pancakes. Like I said, don’t just identify your product. Figure out why it should be your signature item. For us:

  1. The color is unique. Most people have never seen a purple pancake before.
  2. The flavor is very different, unlike anything we’ve ever tasted.
  3. Not many people were serving it at the time, let alone in our area.
  4. Our business is a cafe and pancakes fit very well in our business model.
  5. It’s the perfect catalyst to tell people about Filipino food and culture.
  6. It’s familiar to all cultures, not just our own. Since our mission is to share our family’s Filipino recipes and dishes with the world (not just other Filipinos) this was the perfect product to push us into the direction we’ve always dreamed of.

Okay that’s done, now what do we post? People love behind the scenes stuff. They love to see the people and the process that makes the end product. We post raw ingredients like eggs, the mixers whipping some icing, etc. Make your followers feel like they’re an exclusive club by letting them be the first to know that you have new products. Or even, show them the struggle of being an entrepreneur. Authenticity and transparency is key. People can see right through you on social media. Don’t pretend, be you – you are why people will be interested in what you have to offer.


Another suggestion is to inform your audience. Tell them who you are, what makes you different. Mix it up! We don’t just post your signature product over and over without some variety. We try to post as regularly as possible.


Last suggestion is repost your followers! We actually did this out of desperation because we couldn’t think of anything to share, but our customers and followers loved it! I think that reposting from another user just allows an unbiased account of our product.

It’s that simple! The main thing you want to think about is looking at it from a viewer’s perspective instead of the content creator’s perspective. Who is look at you? Who do you want to attract? Who would need what you have to offer? Create content that would be useful for them.

When you post, remember to always provide value. Don’t just post to promote. Show your audience and potential tribe that you care about them. Share a little bit about yourself (this is your brand story), inform them about your products and why it’s different from the rest, share insight, and share your journey!

xoxo,

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Instagram, Instagram, Instagram…

Why must you betray us so?!

I don’t like the new update for Instagram. As a business that is growing a lot of our marketing plan relies on Instagram specifically to help grow our business. When Facebook changed from chronological to relevance it drove me nuts too. Instagram is no different. I never really looked at Facebook the same way after that. It makes me kinda sad for Instagram.

But hey, I can’t change it so I’ve got to make the best of it. So what’s my plan from here on out? Nothing really different. I just want to put out good content. I want to put more authentic content out there and do it more often, but other than that I still want to remain true to myself. No algorithm is going to change that 😉

xoxo,

Kissa

 

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