A Conversation with Rachel Barnhart & Ana Liss: On Dealing with Negative Comments

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A Conversation with Rachel Barnhart & Ana Liss: On Dealing with Negative Comments

This is the 12th post in the “A Conversation With” series, where I interview smart humans about their experiences in the world of social media. You can read past features here.

This month, I interviewed Rachel Barnhart, a Monroe County Legislator, and Ana Liss, the Director of Planning & Economic Development for Monroe County. Both women are intelligent, hardworking, and have dealt with negative comments and online harassment. In this blog post, we dive into how those negative comments impact mental health, what platforms and people can do better, and more.

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How Many is Too Many Instagram Stories?

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How Many is Too Many Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories have been around for nearly five years now, and there’s still debate over how to utilize them well. One question my clients often ask is, how many is too many Instagram Stories? Personally, when I’m flipping through Stories, I’ll watch the ones where there are four or five long dashes at the top. When it comes to a person or business whose Stories have devolved into an endless row of tiny dots, I’ll swipe onto the next account because I don’t have the attention span for that! Everyone has their own preferences and arbitrary rules for Story posting frequency. One Digg writer argued that three Stories is the perfect number.

In the social media industry, the answer to so many questions is “it depends.” I could tell you that it depends when it comes to Story posting frequency, and to some extent it does, but there is great research on the topic that provides helpful guidance on how many Stories really is too many.

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7 Helpful Tools for Social Media

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7 Helpful Tools for Social Media

In order to be successful in your day-to-day social media management, it’s helpful to have an arsenal of handy tools to help you do your best work. These can be for scheduling, planning, or graphic design--there’s a lot that goes into making a great post! Today I’m sharing some of my favorite tools for crafting excellent social media content.

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How to Optimize Your Instagram Bio

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How to Optimize Your Instagram Bio

Writing a top-notch Instagram bio is both an art and a science. How do you craft something that will entice your target audience? That includes all the necessary information and is still concise and compelling? You only have 150 characters to do it! Today on the blog, we’re diving into best practices for optimizing your Instagram bio.

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How Long Should My Instagram Caption Be?

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How Long Should My Instagram Caption Be?

Determining how long your Instagram caption should be is an age-old dilemma. Okay, Instagram has only existed for eleven years, so maybe not quite “age-old.” Nonetheless, one of the most common concerns I hear from clients is, “How do I write a good caption? How long should my caption be?” People are stumped by the art of the caption! Today on the blog I’m breaking down Instagram caption length.

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How to Run a Social Media Giveaway

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How to Run a Social Media Giveaway

You’ve seen them before: the social media giveaway. They’re all over lately, especially on Instagram! Why would you want to give free products or services away, though? And if you do decide it’s the right move for your business, how do you execute on it effectively? We’re exploring all that and more on the blog today!

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Why I Ended My Passion Project

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Why I Ended My Passion Project

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.

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12 Things Not to Do on LinkedIn

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12 Things Not to Do on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a strange platform. While it can be great for networking and professional purposes, many people seem unsure of how to use the platform well. It can lead to inappropriate behaviors and cringey mistakes. In order to use LinkedIn effectively, you need to understand its purpose and why you’re there.

So, what is LinkedIn for? LinkedIn is a much more formal platform than Twitter or Instagram. It’s designed for creating a compelling profile to highlight your professional experience and connecting with people in your field. Ultimately, the goal is to craft a strong network that helps you move forward in your career.

What is LinkedIn not for? So many things! It’s not a dating site. It’s not a sales platform. It’s not for making new friends. Here are 12 things you should not do on LinkedIn.

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How to Set up a Business Profile on Instagram

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How to Set up a Business Profile on Instagram

Business Instagram accounts offer many benefits not available on plain old personal Instagram accounts. With a business account, you can access a variety of marketing tools like analytics, ads, contact options, appointment booking, and swipe up links in your Stories if you have over 10,000 followers. Today on the blog, we’ll be exploring the benefits of using a business account and how to set one up, whether you’re brand new to Instagram or converting over from a personal account.

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How to Review Your Facebook Insights

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How to Review Your Facebook Insights

Today we’re continuing our series on reviewing your analytics. Previously, we’ve covered all things Twitter analytics and Instagram Insights. Next up: the world of Facebook Insights. Many people lament that organic reach is down on Facebook and that it’s become a pay-to-play platform. In some respects, that’s true. But even if your reach is low, you can still get great engagement with your audience. That’s why it’s important to regularly track and assess what’s working and what’s not. Without further ado, let’s dive into how to review your Facebook Insights.

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