I'm not an active Facebook user. In fact, my generation tends to stay away from it altogether. Baby Boomers are a bit put off by all these social media choices. And Millennials tend to use Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. But, nonetheless, most of us (my husband excluded; go figure!) do have a Facebook account, and sometimes I give in to the temptation to scroll. For hours.
So, I was scrolling through my home feed this morning and noticed that Facebook now offers various 'reactions' for users to engage with another's post. As many of you know, Facebook is infamous for its 'like' feature; a feature Facebook has now transformed into emoji reactions: 'like,' 'love,' 'ha-ha,' 'wow,' 'sad,' and 'angry.' As it turns out, these 'reactions' actually promote one's Facebook post.
In his article, "How the Facebook Algorithm Works In 2020," Greg Sawn explains, "the goal of Facebook's algorithm is to 'show stories that matter to users.'" To do this, Facebook collects signals from your posts and 'reactions' to provide relevant and meaningful content to audiences.
So what is the point of all this?
Well, Facebook pages, like the IACP Facebook page, need 'reactions' to increase their viewership and overall audiences. Although this seems confusing, it's truly a simple process.
When an IACP post, for example, receives few 'reactions,' Facebook is less inclined to promote that post to other users. Conversely, when an IACP post receives many' reactions,' Facebook promotes the post to the friends of those who react, thereby sharing the post to friends of friends, and so forth.
How can the IACP improve its Facebook engagement? Well, the answer lies in 'reactions.' As an IACP member, it's vital that you share and 'react' with IACP's Facebook posts. This simple task exponentially increases IACP's viewership and reached audience.
In addition to Facebook, other social media platforms, like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube offer similar opportunities for the IACP to interact with younger audiences. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, works with the same algorithm. So, IACP posts on Instagram require interaction to spread about the platform's audiences. Twitter and YouTube work in similar fashion. Once an IACP tweet receives likes and retweets, it then is promoted to other Twitter users you've interacted with. With respect to YouTube videos, likes and subscriptions tend to lead the way in accessing larger audiences.
So, what should you, as an IACP member, take away from this?
You'll need to increase your interaction with IACP posts across social media platforms. This is the easy part! Your only job is to like, share, retweet, and 'react' with IACP social media posts.
How? Find and then 'follow' IACP on the various platforms. (Just go to the platform and search 'International Academy of Collaborative Professionals'; here's IACP on Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=international%20academy%20of%20collaborative%20professionals&src=typed_query.) This will make it easier to see what IACP is posting. Then 'like' and 'retweet' those posts.
Here's what IACPNews tweeted ('twittered'?) on February 26:
We are pleased to bring you another issue of the Collaborative Connection, the electronic newsletter of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. Stay in the know. Read February's issue now. http://ow.ly/aBYV50yvTov
You can, of course, hit the ow.ly link to pull up the Connection. But the four options below this tweet are offered graphically, 'reply,' 'retweet,' 'like,' and 'share.' If you click on one, it will tell you what you are doing. Easy-peasy. Do it now.
By the same token, how easy is it to post your own content about IACP on your own social media? That benefits both of you and Twitter is great for this. Note that Twitter limits its tweets to 280 characters, so you'll want to post a short, provocative tweet that persuades your reader to 'click the link' to learn more. If you're wondering what a tweet like this should look like, here's a sample from Dr. Ken Celiano on October 26, 2019:
Learning lots and sharing insights at the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals conference in Chicago!
Then he included a personal photo from the event that he'd posted on his own Twitter feed. https://twitter.com/drceliano/status/1188231708895825923/photo/1 When you clicked on it (try it now! Go ahead; it'll only take a second), you learned more about Dr. Celiano's practice.
Or here's what Stephanie Villinski tweeted on August 27, 2019:
Tired of everything always being decided in Court? If so, learn about other options by checking out the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals forum in Chicago October 24th-27th.
Then she included a link she had copied from IACP: https://t.co/lVhBCXhWWu?amp=1. It popped into her tweet as a visual that the reader could click on to go to the IACP website.
It is truly amazing how easy it is to do all this. And if there's a step in the process that you don't know (yet), like how to turn your photo into a link, Google "how to…" and you'll find your answer instantly.
As collaborative professionals, our mission is to transform the way families resolve conflict. To do this, we must market the benefits of collaborative practice to the world. What's the best way to do this? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Reserve a few minutes of your day to interact with IACP posts, and, if you feel confident, try your hand at posting yourself! The benefits are enormous and far outweigh the time invested (unless, of course, you give in to the temptation to scroll!) You'll be doing yourself, IACP, and the world a huge service.
Helpful? Let me know; I'm Joryn Jenkins, a Collaborative lawyer in Tampa, Florida, and I would love to hear from you… on Facebook, Twitter, or even my own email at Joryn@OpenPalmLaw.com.