5 Things I Learned In SMM

This semester I took a  social media marketing course and I learned a lot. This blog is going to inform you of 5 important factors that I took away from my social media class. The goal of this is to give you an idea on how to improve your personal brand on social media.

1) Feedly is Key

Having a RSS feed is crucial to your success with sharing content consistently that is valuable. If I did not have Feedly, finding content would be extremely difficult. Having multiple streams and feeds are critical to have a diverse selection of content for your network. Feedly creates your social sharing. Feedly creates value to your social network. Feedly is key for content.

2) Consistency is Crucial

Being consistent with your brand and social media makes the biggest impact on your network. I never understood why all our platforms needed to be consistent, but overtime that changed. I realized the impact it had on people who are looking for you and seeing you across multiple platforms. You are creating awareness of your brand by being consistent with your brand.

3) Planning is Important

Having a plan to what you are doing is one the biggest lessons I have learned on social media. If you don’t have a plan to what you are going to be sharing or writing, you are going to be very lost. Being lost is not fun, trust me I have been there and done that. Scheduling your content through a platform (Hootusite, Buffer) can save you so much time and keep you on track. Planning will make your life a billion times easier.

4) Focus Drives your Content

Everyone needs to start somewhere with something. If you don’t have a focus, it is hard to create an audience and have a track record of what you are attempting to accomplish. You never realize the importance of having your career focus on display, until you begin to network and engage with people who can make the difference in your social media experience. This was the case for myself. Once I focused on my career focus and my career focused content, my metrics skyrocketed. Focus is everything for social media.

5) Engagement is Growth

One of the biggest components to social media is engagement. This is no secret, but it is very undervalued.  When I developed my personal brand, I would very rarely engage with my network, but once I began to engage I noticed my network activity grow. When you engage, overtime your following grows and your audience comes with you. You don’t notice the long-term effects of engagement, only the short-term. If you don’t engage with your network, you are missing the whole point of social media.

Final Thoughts

I hope you all enjoyed this blog post and took away something to help your personal branding on social media. Leave a comment on some social media tips you use every day that might could help someone else on their journey with social media. Please feel free to share, comment, and like this post. If you want more content, please subscribe to my blog via email to receive future

The 4 quarters of my life

Hi everyone, I apologize if this first post is rather rough, but you have to start somewhere. This first post is going to be a snapshot of my life recreated through 4 quarters, because that is what my blogs are about Branding within the Sports Industry. Now this first blog is intended to be fun and serious, while giving you an understanding of who i am and simple advice you can apply to your life. If you would like to know more about me personally please visit the ‘About Me‘ section of my site.

1st Quarter: The first quarter of my life is pretty simple, the childhood. It gets pretty funny if you ask me. As a child i was definitely a mamas boy and did not want anyone else, I knew this and so did everyone else around me. My mom is a teacher and I was at the same elementary school that she taught at which is mistake one. Every day until 4th grade, I would cry and cry until i was switched into her class or she came to visit me. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. I cried every single day. It got so bad that i eventually had to move schools and find a way to survive at school without my mom. On my first day of fourth grade i cried and cried, because my mom was not there. Over time it got better, it just took awhile to adjust. My advice is to don’t be scared to switch things in life. When you get comfortable things get harder to change. Don’t be intimidated by change.

2nd Quarter: During high school, i was never an A+ student, I actually never thought I was going to college, but somehow I made it here and I am beyond glad that I did. I did not take education seriously and it drastically impacted my transition in college. I eventually turned everything around and became a National Collegiate Scholars nominee and also received a UNCo Scholars scholarship for my academic performance. My biggest advice would be never to give up or stop trying, you never know what you can accomplish. If you give up you may lose an opportunity of your life that you may never get back.

3rd Quarter: When I was younger, my step dad and I were constantly butting heads. I was too young to understand who he was and what he was doing for us. While i was constantly attacking him, he was creating a better life for my family. I did not understand that he was not only serving our family, but our country as well. My step father is now my biggest supporter in life and has sought out to give us everything and anything in order to succeed, before he took care of himself. I cannot be any more thankful for the sacrifices he made for us and everyone else around the world. My biggest advice is to accept everyone, you don’t truly know a book from a few pages. People can change your world in the blink of an eye, but without acceptance you would never know, until they change another persons world.

4th Quarter: During my freshman year of college I made one of the worst mistakes of my life. One night I was skateboarding down a hill, keep in mind i don’t skateboard, and never have and never will again. Anyways, i was going down this big hill and I saw a crack in the ground, which I thought was big, others didn’t and I decided to jump off the board. For some reason I jumped not onto the grass next to me, but the concrete ground on the other side of me. I have a huge road rash scar on my hip now and I will probably never ride a skateboard again, but it is an experience that I will always remember and laugh at. My advice here is to live without fears, do something you don’t normally do and just do it. Don’t let fear stop you from living life.

I hope you enjoyed this post and through the funny and serious stories, you understood the underlying messages and can apply these to your personal and professional endeavors.

Please feel free to like, share, or comment on this first post. I would love to hear what i could do better and what you liked.

Thank you!

Jordan B. Sparks