​I was reading an article today in the HubSpot blog about why you should use cross-posting for your business or organization's social media, and had to post this as a response. Cross-posting is easy, but that doesn't mean that it will have positive results.

Why? I'm going to offer you three reasons why not to cross-post, and one reason to.

Why Not to Cross-Post

1. Unique Platforms -  Every platform is unique in terms of what type of content it is geared towards. The same type of content will not be as effective on each content - for example, twitter is meant for short thoughts and announcements, and is not fit for a photo album. Instagram is photo-focused and Facebook hosts a variety of post types. If you post the same graphic for each of them, for one it will not be sized correctly for each platform but also it may not be as successful as if you have a stratified plan of content for each.

2. High Platform Value -  Put yourself in your customers' shoes, if you see the same graphic and copy on Instagram as you do on Facebook, will you be as excited and motivated to engage with it a second time over? Will you comment again or just like and continue your apathetic scrolling? Give your customer something unique geared towards each platform such as different event photos (and less photos) on Instagram vs. Facebook, and different copy on Twitter. This will take more time, but it will pay dividends in the future as your followers get more excited for each post instead of being stuck with re-runs!

3. Unique Audience - If you check out your insights, you will see derivations from platform to platform of demographics, time active, and more. 

Why To Cross-Post

There are times where Cross-posting can be effective, such as getting the word out for giveaways or events. These are large enough that it is more important to reach the largest audience and get the word out. I would still recommend to instead design a graphic for the proper sizing of each platform, but this just goes to show that there is no one-size-fits-all advice. There is a time and place for most strategies, what's more important is that you realize what your target market and buyer personas are attracted to and that you can fill that niche.

Resources:
Designing the proper sizing for each platform can be hard! That's why I've attached a cheat sheet to help you or your designer to make things look polished and perfect. But that's all for today, followers. Have a wonderful day!

You know that pre-fever feeling where you start to feeling a pressure in your head, as a growing chill in your torso makes you begin to shiver? That was where I was at last night, and had to make the call to take a sick day today. Thank God that I work at a company that has a decent sick day policy.

Now I believe that America is one of the most productive and successful countries in the world in great part due to our indomitable spirit and work ethic to be better than yesterday and to leave the world a better place. This has manifested itself in a pride of working hard, not sleeping well, and coming in (or working from home nowadays) when we are sick.  I even considered it last night, thinking "Maybe it's not so bad, it's probably not contagious, let's see if it actually is a fever."

This is something that people in some European countries would find absolutely disturbing. In fact, in countries like Germany where I have plenty of family, is is common to have 4+ weeks time off, while in the USA, 81% of employees get less than 4 weeks of paid time off. Although this is not something that Americans can just blame their employers over. What makes this all more interesting is that almost half of Americans don't even use all of their vacation days, and 37% feel guilty for taking more than a week off largely because of their workloads. These statistics should say something about our work culture. 

One last statistic for all of you before I make some closing thoughts. According to Time Magazine, even though Americans work some of the most hours per week in the developed world (33.6 hours), they are only the fifth most productive, countering claims of highest productivity in the world. That honor goes to Luxembourg, the country that works the least amount of hours per week in the developed world (29 hours). 

I'm not here to make a lengthy speech on the excesses of capitalism or unhealthy work addiction, far smarter people than I can argue those merits out in the halls of wisdom (and the internet). What I think is important is that we know the upsides and downsides of our work culture, and find positions that are healthy for us. I am blessed to work for a company with an excellent PTO and sick day policy and a boss who does not make me feel guilty for taking this time off provided that I make up or prepare for my time off. My flatmate didn't have any sick days for the first six months that he worked with his company, and that put him in some difficult situations. 

Don't resort to a company that doesn't take care of you and be critical of the work culture and ethic at your companies. remember, when you are interviewing for a company, it is a chance not only for them to figure out if you are a good fit for them, but also if they are a good fit for you. Ask questions about more than just pay and qualifications. Find out if their office is a good match for your values.

This turned out to be a bit of a longer post than I expected, but I hope that my thoughts were concise and understandable. If you have something to contribute to this topic or disagree with my take, feel free to take to the comments below. But until next time, this has been Kevin's thoughts on Kevin's Korner. Have a wonderful day and we'll meet again the next time my pen hits the paper. Goodbye!

What's the most obnoxious thing for you at the office? For me, it used to be when I was deep in the middle of a project and the deadline was approaching, and a co-worker came by either to give me a new assignment or just to chat. I would be friendly and courteous on the outside, but on the inside I was fuming.

This is 100% poor planning, but it's not just because of procrastination or time-management, it's a way of viewing life. It's packing your schedule to the brim or hyper-focusing on your current task so much so that all others (and the rest of life) fade into the background. While these may increase your productivity in the short term, in the long term it will reduce it significantly and make you an unpleasant person to be around. Why?
Because you're stressed out.

If you've ever watered a plant with a watering can, you know that it is far too easy to overfill. It may theoretically get you more water faster to fill the pots and finish your task, but getting all of your water to the various plants without spilling any is a bugger, and you will spill so much that you brought less water than if you would've just filled it less -- or you will walk super slow and concentrate so hard you get an aneurism. 

This is what it's like to not add margin into your day. You'll get to work late because you didn't include account for the always possible traffic, you will be rude to a co-worker because you don't have enough time for a pleasant conversation, it's awful! Especially for people-pleasers, which I have tendencies of.

Adding margin to your day means saying no to extra tasks that you can't do and starting tasks early enough so you don't jam pack the backend of the week, it means being on top of your schedule and it means managing your hustle. We want to be productive, but we want to keep a positive, grateful mindset.

Start your day right with a good breakfast and things that improve your mindfulness and peace such as exercise or inspirational reading, devote time to your holy book if you are religious. Take time throughout your day for people, schedule your meetings far enough apart that you're not late to one because the last ran over. And speaking of running over - if your day does run together, it is better to be honest with your current task or meeting and let them know that you are out of time, or close out of your software to start again later, and move on to your next task or meeting. This is how you honor them. This isn't being mean, it's being mature, and your current meeting will understand. It's how they would want to be treated and if they don't understand, that is a personal flaw.

This is a topic I have found to be extremely influential in my life and helped me to be a more productive employee, happier, and more at peace. If you are interested in learning more, head to A Virtuous Woman or Holistic Wellness Practice. They have far more detailed steps and actions that you can take to add margin to your day and improve your productivity.
But that is all for today, my friends. Take it easy and have a wonderful day!

Hello again, dear followers! 
I have a short post for you all today where we will be exploring some tips for managing social media! Now before I get started, I want to remind that social media management is not a one size fits all operation. There are best practices that will improve your social media engagements, but what you have to do first is audit your social media platforms and put together buyer personas if you haven't already. If you haven't done that yet, go ahead and watch this basic introduction by HubSpot, it will take you far! 

There are three keys that I want to talk about today, and those are knowing your company, industry, and audience. You should be positioned to attract a niche group, for my radio station, our target market is largely female, 30-50 years old. We have done extensive research to know who is most engaged on the radio and on social media. We do plentiful market research as well to make sure that we are crafting content that they will find interesting and fun. Second, know your industry. Know what fun behind-the-scenes footage and pop culture/trends/news style content you can utilize and cash in on. Know what your business brings to the table that no other does. For us, we have radio breaks that we can tape for IG Stories, FB Lives and supplementary lawncare company or marketing agency. Lean into your expertise and people will come.

Once again, I will direct you towards Hubspot, as they have a great course on Building a Social Media Strategy 
As I promised, this post will be short. I will come back around for a part II and discuss stratified platform content, data-driven strategy, and types of content.
Until then, dear follower, have a wonderful day and a blessed week.
Goodbye!

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