Interview with Jimmie Lanley on Social Media

Welcome to month three  of the 144 Plan.  This month the 144 Plan is all about establishing Social Media Smarts.  This month we will be covering everything from Pinterest and Facebook to G+ and Twitter.  We will also be time management, the measuring of your social media influence and other tips and tricks helpful to both bloggers and social media aficionados.

I am very excited to kick off this new 144 Series with an interview from a social media fiend.  I first met Jimmie via the iHomeschool Network and probably know her best now as a G+ guru with over 40,000 followers!  She can always be found surfing somewhere on G+ and if not there, spending time encouraging and promoting her iHN cohorts.  Jimmie is known well across the web in both homeschool and blogging circles.  Thus, I am so happy to introduce you to Jimmie Lanley.

1.  Tell us a little about yourself, your family, how you got started in social media, etc.

I am a mom to an only child, Emma, who is 14 years old. My husband, daughter, and I live in Memphis, TN. I was always (and still am) averse to Facebook, so my first exposure to social media was blogging which I began when we lived in China. After I fell in love with blogging, I discovered Twitter. Then Pinterest and Google Plus were invented and won me over. I never learned to like Facebook, but I just skipped ahead to the more recent (and I like to think more advanced) social media platforms.

2.  Approximately how many hours a week do you spend on social media networks?

Oh boy! I spend a lot of time on social media because that’s my job, either for my own business or for clients. It would probably be multiple hours each day.

I actually don’t spend much time on social media for personal pleasure. It’s very work focused. But I do love to browse Google Plus for reading material. I admit, however, that much of my recreational reading revolves around social media marketing. I really enjoy learning, and with a few exceptions, I find it more pleasurable to read an article about SEO than to watch television.

3.  Do you have any time saving tips for being more efficient on social media networks?

There are different ways to approach social media. If it’s just for fun or leisure, then it doesn’t matter. But if you are using social media for a specific goal, then you simply have to discipline yourself to stay on track with that goal. I try to separate my social media working time from my social media playing time. Sometimes I am on G+ for a specific task, so I need to focus on only that task. Other times I am browsing G+ for fun, and I don’t put any restrictions on my use. 

4.  What is your favorite social media and why?

Without a doubt Google Plus is my favorite. I love the versatility that allows you to share links, videos, images, or text. I love that the text area is virtually limitless in terms of character count and that you can edit a post at any time. You can even format your posts with bold and italics. And best of all, G+ posts are indexed in search. Oh, one more thing! As a G+ user, you are in control of what you see instead of some arbitrary algorithm. That’s a big pro for me. 

5.  What are your favorite resources for social media tips and information?

I follow some amazingly generous and brilliant people on Google Plus. They are my source of continuing education. Here are a few of them: Mike Allton, Peg Fitzpatrick, Jeff Sieh, Wade Harmon, Alisa Meredith, Stephan Hovnanian, Ileane Smith, Liz Jostes.

6.  What are your favorite social media tools, apps, or programs?

I use Buffer for scheduling tweets and HootSuite for monitoring. I get Pin Alerts and TalkWalker alerts to my inbox weekly. I actually have a post about this topic. 

7.  With so many social media networks demanding we interact with them, which ones would you recommend we start developing first and why?

Set up a robust Google Plus profile and establish authorship of your sites or blogs. In my mind, this is an essential step for anyone who wants to be taken seriously online as any kind of authority. Then if you want to be found in search, start making YouTube videos. Video is amazingly powerful. Get over your fear of the camera. Just do it. 

8.  What is the best social media advice you have received and/or could give?

Besides plugging in to Google Plus and YouTube, I would say be everywhere but pace yourself. (This comes from Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income.) As a blogger, you should have a presence on every social media platform. But invest in the ones where you see results and in the ones you love. If you absolutely despise Twitter, for example, I still think you should have an account. And you must monitor your mentions. But you don’t have to tweet regularly. Just have an account. If you really hate any platform after you’ve given it a fair try, then move on to something else. Find what you love and what works and dig in.

About Jimmie:

Jimmie Lanley is a work at home mom who homeschools her teen daughter. Her business iHomeschool Network delivers social media marketing campaigns in the homeschool niche.

Have any social media questions for Jimmie?

Feel free to ask away in the comments below and/or connect with her on her blog, Jimmie Lanley, Google Plus, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

 Take it to the next level with these resources:

• iBlog by 30 Top Bloggers (including Jimmie Lanley)
• My Social Media Pinterest Board which includes tips for everything from Pinterest to G+ and more.
  

This post is the 1st of 12 in the 144 Plan to Social Media Smarts.  To learn more about the 144 Plan or catch up on a missed post, check out the complete 144 Plan Training Log.

The heart of the wise will make his mouth judicious, and upon his lips, it will add persuasiveness. (Proverbs 16:23)