Thursday 14 June 2012

5 Social Media Lessons on Engagement From Caroline Mutoko

Image Source-Facebook
 I decided to write an article on Caroline Mutoko’s social media presence after her recent social media outbursts following the death of Hon George Saitoti andHon Orwa Ojode in the Ngong plane crash. After her posts on social media, a few people asked me for an opinion on how she’s handling her facebook page. Since I couldn’t respond to each one of them I did the update below as my feedback!  

The feedback I got was what motivated me to do a blog post on her conduct on social media. In the past Caroline Mutoko has referred to her Facebook fans as “Low IQ Facebook users”, if I remember well she made the post on a Sunday, the bashing that she got was phenomenal; it was a PR nightmare and she had to pull down the post and block her wall to plug any further negative response from the angry fans. As a social media specialist I keenly watch what she does on her page and thus I will not focus on just the mistakes she’s done, however I will give you an analysis and 5 lessons on social media you could also pick from her. 
1.   Ask questions & Use Simple Language
  To engage the average Facebook user you need to ensure your content is clear, accurate and easy to interprete.  If you are a professional in a certain field, leave the technical jargon to the office dialogue, do not assume everyone understands those terms. In blogging, I also strive to use English that everyone can understand. If you’ve got to use technical terms the ensure you explain their meaning!
 
 Tip No.1
Although this is an old one, it must still be mentioned. Sharing a link or "what's on your mind" alone is interesting, but sharing a link and asking a question about it gets people to actually participate in the discussion with you. Plus, people find it interesting when you ask for their opinions. Secondly use simple words because people prefer simple and easy to understand posts to complex ones. 
2. Time your posts & schedule social media time
Caroline definitely understands this very well, she will do updates in the evenings about the following day’s show or engage her fans on Facebook during the show. This is so effective because when she interacts with people on social media during her show then her listener ship (audience) increases. That translates to increased reach and affinity to her breakfast show on Kiss. With all that advertisers pay more to buy spots and sponsorship credits during her show!See---More Money!!!
Tip No.2
Being influential on social media doesn’t mean spending the whole day online on Facebook and Twitter. Create a schedule based upon your routine. Maybe you tweet in the morning, at lunch, during breaks and in the evenings. Every brand’s fan base will engage with posts at a different time of day (or night), so look at your own content to see when your fans are most engaged. If there is a particular time that does not see much traffic, forgo it for a time when more of your fans and followers are online and engaged.
3. Sharing Opportunities.
When Caroline Mutoko wrote an incisive, strong and opinionated article on her column last week on Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish: Vision 2030 Depends On You  an article meant for recent unemployed graduates, however they put her to task. The message was clear, "give us those jobs and see if we won’t deliver. She then came up with this! Well done!!

Tip No.3
A great way to show people you have depth is to share with them what you are reading, you can share things about your hobbies, photography, quotes, dogs, technology and politics. By doing the above Caroline has proven herself as someone who’s willing to help. Sadly not many Kenyans have perfected the art of sharing content and opportunities. Don't talk just about yourself and your company. You end up looking so selfish and mean. A research done in the U.S showed that twitter users donate more  to charities  than others on the internet; why? It’s because on Twitter; tweeps do share links, Re-tweet nice information and pass on the news (Good or bad) around. Seriously this holds water because if you read nice articles why not share it with others? Help someone else out there too. In addition to creating the content, tell your fans what you want them to do. Sure, compelling content can attract eyeballs, and but to reinforce the point, tell fans what to do. Give people a call to action! She did just that with the post above!She's a #SocialPro!

4. Crisis Management & Social Media Etiquette


The below update was her response to the above post when her Facebook fans reacted angrily to her earlier post on the plane crash. What impresses me about Caroline is she tells it is, for her being in the media means she understands PR and media relations better than most of us so whenever she does anything or says something she knows it can be interpreted it in any way.

Tip No.4
Never post when you're overly-tired, jet lagged, intoxicated, angry or upset. This is so important yet most people ignore it. You are always very eager to tweet when you get juicy details, when you are so happy or very annoyed. Please avoid posting too much when you are drunk. Handle your social media when you are in a good/sober emotional state. After you write an update or tweet re-read it before you post it, ‘listen to it’ and ask yourself what it means and what message it sends across. Always ensure the message you want to communicate will be understood by the average Facebook user!

5. Share something humorous.
Be bold-don’t be afraid to share your thoughts, opinions, ideas and your life on social media. Bad morning? Share it, but with a twist that shows people something unusual.

Tip No.5
Funny content on social media engages more fans and followers.  Over 84% of retweets tend to be something funny. Whether you are making fun of a celebrity or yourself or sharing a funny picture, there’s a good chance it will get retweeted or shared. The above post helps Caroline achieve the following/portray herself as a; caring mother-we all know that she adopted Nduku so this post shows just how good a mother she can be. It portrays her as someone who will get her hands dirty, an African woman who takes care of her children. Despite being a celebrity with a great career in the media her update teaches other career women that they shouldn’t delegate the raising of their kids to nannies. In as much as the update is funny, dirty and dumb the message was clear. 
Kindly go to Caroline Mutoko's Official Fan Page check it out, see what other lessons you can pick from her. The above comments, opinions and thoughts are solely mine; so kindly respect that! In case you have a different opinion or argument I would love to hear you out on Twitter so follow me @KenyanMarketer. Lets take the vibe there!  Ooh, today on the Big Breakfast Caroline was talking about children who don't know their fathers. This got me thinking, what will she tell Nduku? 
Nduku- Caroline's adopted kid(Her daughter)

6 comments:

  1. wah! I admire your writing, keep it up.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate your time on my blog. Keep checking it out.

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  2. You're very smart. I like the way you've analyzed her social media presence. It really explains the importance of social media. Having said that, I think we need to give Caroline Mutoko some slack, she is after all human and is prone to mistakes like the rest of us. I would be concerned if she didn't have any faults. I think that we should accept her for who she is and live with it. That's my opinion.

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    1. That's very true. The truth is when you become a celebrity there will always be critics who try to pin you down. She's human, she makes mistakes, learns from them and moves on just like everyone. Personally I would say she's influential on social media not because she's a celebrity but because she's a social pro. She understands social media rather well. Thanks for your review Maureen

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  3. I think it's ok for Caroline to be upset at times on twitter. If she painted a picture perfect unreal person she wouldn't be believable. I find her more human this way and listen to what she says coz she is a normal person that get angry, is happy, is amused......like me!

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  4. just love ur note kudos

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