If you think tweets are for the birds and Facebook involves planting your face in some good reading material, you're not alone.
And while some social media enthusiasts may be making New Year's resolutions to scale down the amount of time they spend on sites like Twitter and Facebook, there are those considering becoming involved or more engaged in 2013.
Whether you're a business owner struggling to figure out the best ways to use social media to reach your target audience, or a grandmother eager to get on Facebook to share photos of the grandchildren, Anita Hovey can help.
The Hammonds Plains resident and social media strategist runs Twirp Communications and manages to keep her followers engaged, entertained and educated.
She agreed to share some tips with The Weekly News.
"The benefits to being on Facebook from a personal perspective are the ability to keep up with your friends and family from around the world," Hovey said.
"You can follow local businesses, national brands that you're interested in to find out what's new with them, learn when your local coffee ship may be having a special event, and even enter contests and give aways."
Businesses who lack a social media presence are missing a huge opportunity, Hovey said, but those hoping to capitalize on the benefits should keep in mind that not every social media forum is going to work for them.
"If your audience is moms of young children, Pinterest and Facebook are more important to your business than YouTube and Twitter," she said. "If you are trying to get to the chief marketing officers for national corporations, LinkedIn is more important for you."
It's also important to realize it's not necessary to become an expert in all forms of social media overnight. Pick the one your are most comfortable with, do it really well, and move on to the next.
"If your consultant says you need a presence on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook don't start them all on Jan. 1... You'll be overwhelmed," she said.
If you do want to create a Twitter presence, be prepared to do at least two things--follow many others and provide good content on a daily basis to build up your following.
"You aren't the Dalai Lama, who has millions of followers and isn't following anyone," Hovey said.
Hovey's blog and a great deal of useful information can be accessed via her website, www.twirp.ca.
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca
Anita Hovey's Top Tips for Social Media:
Check your privacy settings regularly
Facebook has been known to default all users to "public", so it's a good idea to check that your settings are where you want them to be whenever you hear about changes to Facebook.
Don't be afraid to unfriend/unfollow people you no longer connect with
On Facebook they do not get a notice that you've left and you'll be happier not seeing their updates in your newsfeed. On Twitter they may be notified, but most are not.
Hide the types of Facebook updates you don't want to see
If your friends play games, you can hide all the updates from each game by clicking on the arrow in the top right corner of one of the updates. Similarly, you can click on that arrow to hide horoscopes, pictures and video updates.
Choose what types of Facebook updates you like from each friend
By hovering over a person's name in your newsfeed, and then hovering over "Friend" you will have many options as to what you can see or hide from that person. You can also choose to not see any of this person's updates at all-which is great for those you don't want to completely unfriend.
Use Lists
Whether you're using Facebook, Twitter or Google+, they all have list functions that allow you to filter your newsfeed and/or target who is seeing your updates. Used properly you can segment friends, family and professional contacts on each network.
