Tips for Building a Digital Presence

Social media can be a great way to show the world that you know what you are talking—or typing—about. Potential customers could search 100 websites to plan that perfect trip, but there’s no beating a knowledgeable travel agent who posts blogs, stories, photos, and all kinds of helpful information.

But there’s a right way and a wrong way, said Sree Sreenivasan, chief digital officer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Using social media is all about quality over quantity as you reach out to form personal connections.

“Always be connecting with people when you don’t need them, so they’ll be there when you do need them,” Sreenivasan said. Be selfless about sharing your followers’ information and give them credit, in the hopes that when you have an important bit of information or a selling point, your followers will do the same.

As background, he used Facebook’s newsfeed as an example he called “The Empire Strikes Back.” Its news feed feature allows people to connect with older posts and randomly share information. To understand the algorithm that makes your posts pop up, Sreenivasan recommended (http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/04/facebook_news_feed_edgerank_facebook_algorithms_facebook_machine_learning.html).

Beyond Facebook, consider new apps like Periscope, which allow you to post live video feeds. “All of tourism is going to become a reality show,” Sreenivasan said.

Other top tech trends for this year are podcasts, e-mail, newsletters, and blogging, which can all be used to generate business and connections.

What to Include

Keeping followers updated on what’s new and what’s trending in your business is crucial to building your social media network. “NASA is sending people to Mars and it still has an attention problem,” Sreenivasan noted. But also keep in mind what your followers want or need to know, and that your social media accounts represent your brand. Things cannot be unsaid once posted, so be discrete. If you have to think twice about it, don’t post it at all.