October 27, 2023

5 Books About How Social Media Shapes Our Culture & World

October 27, 2023/ Emily Hessney Lynch

This fall, I’m teaching a college-level social media course at Nazareth University. The students and I are both learning lots, and it’s been a great experience so far! The midterm project I assigned was pretty unconventional for a social media class: the students had to read a book about social media from a list of five suggested titles and then review it in a traditional paper and an Instagram post or TikTok. My goal was to encourage them to think critically about the platforms we use every day in our professional and personal lives. It was fascinating to read my students’ observations, discuss the books as a class, and see the intersections between them! Today on the blog, I’m sharing a little about each book and what it tells us about the myriad ways that social media shapes our culture and our world.

October 16, 2023

The Easiest Way to Add Multiple Links to Your Instagram Bio

October 16, 2023/ Emily Hessney Lynch

Since its inception, Instagram has not allowed users to include clickable links in captions. The result is the infamous ‘link in bio’ culture, where individuals and businesses alike encourage their audience to visit their bio and click the one link there to follow through on the desired call to action. Because Instagram only permitted one link in a user’s bio, a few different workarounds arose so users could drive their followers to multiple different calls to action. Some people optimized their Instagram bio by using third-party tools like Linktree; others (myself included) advocated for creating a hidden landing page on your own website. Now, neither of those options is necessary, because in spring 2023, Instagram added the ability for users to include up to 5 links in their bio. It’s quick, easy, and effective! Here’s how to set it up:

April 26, 2023

How to Use Instagram Collab Posts

April 26, 2023/ Emily Hessney Lynch

In their efforts to stay relevant and serve many audiences, Instagram keeps adapting quickly and adding new features. Instagram Collab posts were announced in late 2021, but I still see a lot of confusion surrounding this feature. This feature is particularly useful for brands and influencers, especially when partnering IRL and are looking to increase their reach online. Today, I’ll walk you through what exactly an Instagram Collab post is, when to use one, why they’re beneficial to your social media strategy, and how to create one. Let’s dive in!

January 13, 2023

How Often Should I Post on Social Media?

January 13, 2023/ Emily Hessney Lynch

As a social media strategist, one of the most common questions I get is, “How often should I be posting on social media?” Like many things in social media, the answer starts with “it depends.” It’s also evolved over the past few years as the social media landscape continues to change rapidly. Last year, I wrote about where to invest your time and effort on social media. But once you’ve decided which platforms to focus on, how do you figure out how much to post? As is often the case, quality is more important than quantity–but there are other factors at play too. Without further ado, let’s dive into social media posting frequency!

July 20, 2022

Where Should I Invest My Time & Effort on Social Media?

July 20, 2022/ Emily Hessney Lynch

As a social media professional, one of the most common questions I get is, “which social media platforms should I be on?” Social media is always changing–you’ve got to keep up with the old standbys of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, then there’s pressure to hop on new platforms, and there are options like LinkedIn and Pinterest to consider. How do you know where to focus your time and effort? Social media is a ton of work, so you want to make sure your time is well spent and that you’re not spreading yourself too thin. Today I’m sharing my best advice for where to invest your time and effort when it comes to social media marketing.

November 23, 2020

Why I Ended My Passion Project

November 23, 2020/ Emily Hessney Lynch

This month, I did something that I could not have envisioned doing at this time last year. After investing four and a half years into it, I finally decided to end my passion project, I Heart ROC. I will always value the relationships I built by interviewing my fellow Rochesterians and sharing their stories on the site. It was an incredible experience and I am so grateful for it.

So, why did I end it? That’s exactly what I want to share on the blog today. In our society, people are always launching side hustles or passion projects. There’s tons of pressure to monetize your hobby. Do you enjoy baking? Start a bakery! Like making candles at home? Sell them on Etsy! It seems like you can’t do something just for the sake of enjoying it anymore. When I googled “passion project,” I got 470 million results; “side hustle” got 67 million results. Articles like “50 ideas for a lucrative side hustle” and “14 reasons to start a passion project” are everywhere.

There’s an abundance of advice about why you should start a passion project, but no one talks about when to end a passion project. When I googled “end a passion project” the results were mostly things like “how to stop procrastinating on your passion project.” That’s why I thought it would be valuable to share why I ended my passion project. Maybe you’re in the same place I was and need some help deciding. I hope this is useful for you.

Here’s why I ended my passion project.

Blog

Serve Me the Sky Digital