Get in the Sandbox and start digging!

www.digsandbox.com

How do I get people to ‘like’ my page? How do I invite people in? Is there a forum where I can ask these questions? What do I do now that I have fans and they are interacting with each other on my page? 

9 Clouds has an answer to those and many more on digsandbox.com.  My sandbox is my online community. Active Facebooking is like drinking from a fire hose: there is a lot of noise, so, for your convenience, Facebook automatically filters it out. You only see posts from pages with whom you interact, so I want my customers to interact. Interaction was stressed throughout the workshop: connection, interaction, information exchange. So how do I make this to scale and ensure my song is heard through the din? Digsandbox.com has the answers for a monthly fee.  

Digsandbox has a $27/monthly fee. This is a useful tool for managing a new social media campaign. The Sandbox is a digital community where everyone else is learning, and at varying stages of learning, so it is safe to ask questions, even questions you think everyone else knows (because if everyone else knows, someone will answer you).

DON’T be the police. The first instinct is to delete or retaliate to a negative post. This is actually an opportunity to change the impending outcome by responding in a positive fashion. Let some conversation unfold. Let my fans defend my product, see what the general consensus is. Remember the folks at ITC.

DON’T post more than once or twice a day on Facebook. You can post up to 22 tweets a day, but it’s not big in South Dakota yet. 

DON’T let social media become a burden.

To start a blog with others, read active blogs and invite a guest blogger from one of the active authors. Read blogs that pertain to the same subject or seem to have similar goals and maybe capture some followers, too. If no one else blogs, continue to post. If there’s a lapse in time, no need to start over, simply pick up where you left off (no one will notice).

I am comfortable with my own digital presence. I have several blogs where I can showcase my work, but they are all student blogs featuring student work. Since I have been out of school for a year, and I have been unable to blog professionally for that year as it is strongly discouraged by my employer, my digital presence is (gasp!) outdated. I have an opportunity to begin a new digital showcase for more recent accomplishments and thus far I have balked because I have been unable to explain the importance of a digital presence. What I didn’t realize was that I can showcase my own accomplishments and have an updated, professional digital presence with or without contributions from other authors. I can invite guest authors from other blogs to comment and follow which will, hopefully, encourage more followers and contributing authors. And all I need are some interesting words so that someone will want to read.