How Studying Social Media Has Changed The Way I Use It

This summer I've had the opportunity to both learn how to use social media as a professional as well as have an internship that allows me to manage a Facebook and Instagram business account. However, both of these opportunities have affected how I use my own social media accounts specifically Instagram in an interesting way. 

Three large changes, I've noticed are how I create and view my own posts as well as how I respond to  others posts !

How I create my own posts

-       There is such a thing as overkill, and before I was probably the person every hated who posted three times in a row or had a 2-minute long Instagram or Snapchat story, however I’ve learned the negative effects that has on consumers and while I’m just a regular user my friends or followers may find this annoying.

-       In learning the importance of social listening for brands and companies, I’ve began to be sure to tag brands or use hashtags when commenting positively or negatively on social media so that it easier from them to engage or do consumer research.

How I view my own posts

-       I’ve fallen victim to counting likes and follows but I’ve learned that engagement is what is most important. An account with 5,00 followers but 100 – 200 like a post is doing something wrong, so I take pride in the fact that a majority of my followers like and comment on my posts.

How I respond to posts

-       I’m learning the importance of providing value in what you post. My mindset has changed from liking and commenting on something because it’s a friend to actually analyzing if it resonates with me. The same goes with any trend or picture re-post campaign, before I would have done it because everyone else was or because it came from my favorite brand but now if I don’t love it, I don’t support it.

-       I’ve began to take time to respond to direct messages/comments from companies or even influencers. We all are familiar with ambassadors for ItWorks products, well I used to just ignore them but now I’ve taken the time to respond and explain to the why I'm uninterested in their products. I also take time to provide feedback on sponsored posts and ads that appear in my feed, often I’m not interested in the products and my feedback is both beneficial to the company and myself because I don’t have to be bombarded with things I don’t care for.

Other changes I’ve noticed

-       I open the apps a lot less for my personal use

-       I’m constantly checking which account I’m posting to before I post anything

-       I’m more careful with what I put on Twitter, to avoid having to delete and change it

-       I’ve started to follow more brands

-       I started to immediately recognize which of my followers are using trending styles or filters vs. which use Instagram more causally

I’ve genuinely love exploring social media form the professional side, I suggest anyone with a passion to understand the digital world take some time to do the same.