It’s not pretty, but one of my favorite things to share with people when I teach social media workshops is this -

Trying to remove something you’ve posted to the Internet is like trying to remove pee from a swimming pool. It isn’t going to happen.

I remember speaking to soon-t0-be college graduates not too long ago. When I suggested they clean up their social profiles before they job hunt because guess what? Your employers are checking! I saw way too many eyes grow wide.

I really dig the infographic below. It acts as your devil’s advocate during the “Post or Not to Post” process.

Do you check yourself before posting or hit ‘click’ too often without thinking?

 Infographic courtesy of Onlineclasses.org

I originally wrote this post for Alissa over on Rags to Stitches. I’m re-sharing it here as I think there’s a great deal of value for bloggers and businesses seeking quick tips for using social media to grow their online presence.

One of my passions is helping businesses build and grow their online social media.

Whether you’re running your own business or building your personal brand, each of these tips will help you better align your goals and make the best use of your time.

In addition to the tips below, I invite you to read my post about SEO for bloggers. If your site isn’t coming up in organic search, how will new users find you?

1. Research. Let me start by saying you don’t need to be on every single social network. Every decision you make should be based upon research and data. As a blogger you already know the only way to have a community is to be a part of it. Figure out where your readers like to hang out. Are they active on Facebook? Twitter? Read some of their favorite blogs and engage  - comment, “Like”, repost, etc.
2. Analytics. Once you’ve done your homework, spend some time getting to know your website’s analytics. If you don’t have Google Analytics installed on your site, do it NOW. It’s a free service with incredibly robust data that can tell you where your readers are coming from, which content is most popular and what keywords are driving traffic. I also like to use GetClicky. That’ll tell you down to the IP address who is on your site and how they got there.
3. Measure. Create a monthly report to track your growth or decline over time. Set a reminder in your calendar to pull data on the 1st of every month. Track page views, visitors, referral sites, top content etc. (If you want to see a sample report, I’d be happy to email it to you). DON’T GET CONSUMED BY THE #S. Do not obsess over how many visitors you have. Quality is way more important than quantity in social media. Use the data to discover what your readers like to see, but don’t write because you think it’ll bring you more traffic. Write because you can’t wait to share with the world!
4. Twitter is my favorite social media platform. It’s a great way to get information quickly and connect with people you might not otherwise have access to. A few tips – before you write a Tweet, always research to see if the person you’re writing about is on Twitter (include their handle); research to see if a hashtag about that topic exists (#parenting, #sewing, etc.) this will increase visibility of your message; DO NOT AUTOMATE YOUR TWEETS TO YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Stick to 140 characters and use bit.ly to shorten your URLs. Also, use Hootsuite to monitor keywords related to your brand or business.
5. Facebook. I’ll say it again. QUALITY is more important than QUANTITY. Don’t get hung up over how many followers you have, instead focus on making those followers your brand ambassadors. Be a good host – engage with anyone who comments or posts. Engage with other pages by ‘Liking” them or commenting as your brand, and update regularly. Include a picture with your post every chance you get [videos do best on Facebook] and ALWAYS include a call to action. For example, “Please ‘Like’ this post if you dig it.”
6. Pinterest. Add a “Pin It” button to every post. In your analytics you’ll be able to track how much traffic Pinterest is driving to your site. It’s incredible.

I originally saw this post on one of my favorite blogger’s website, The Baochi Banter.

Intel just launched an online tool that enables you to create your own infographic about your online activity and behavior.

You plug in to your Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and it spits out an image of your digital life, including topics you post on the most and what time of day you’re most active.

Intel believes I’m most interested in fashion, since according to this, my favorite words  are:

• dresser
• pretty
• sale
• store
• deal

The insights aren’t incredibly robust, but it’s a neat tool for exploring your personal brand and looking at your social activity.

Head here to create your own!