Follower Friday- TPT Social Media Surge

Hey Friends!

Welcome to my blog and to Follower Friday for our TPT Social Media surge! I'm Lauren, the lady behind Teaching in Stripes.   I hope you've learned a lot already from my friends, Brynn and Caitlin.  Excellent and informative posts, girls! If you missed Wednesday and Thursday's posts, please catch up on them after you're finished reading.   

Today we're going to focus on some fabulous people to follow on Facebook.  We'll look at what they're doing that is really inventive, catchy, and works well.  Many of us have been using Facebook personally for a really long time and are now dipping into the business side of things to help market ourselves, our blogs, and our stores.  Today I'm featuring two teacherpreneurs who have been around for a while and have aced their game.  

My first feature is Hope King of Elementary Shenanigans.  Amazing lady! 

Notice that her profile picture and cover photo...they're very pleasing to look at.  Her cover photo uses a clean, bold font in colors that stand out.  It's easy to read, but it's also really attractive.  It's not too busy, but it's still interesting.  It also coordinates well with many of her products that she sells on TPT.  Her style translates across the board from her products into her social media and blog.  It's recognizable, which is something that we want.  We want others to recognize us and our brand.  Her profile picture is an actual photo of her, which I like.  I think it personalizes her page a bit.  

Hope posts on Facebook most days, and her posts definitely catch my attention.  Take a look at the graphic that she posted to advertise her upcoming Periscope session.

Cute, right?

It gets the information across, and it leaves you wondering about what she's going to show you on her classroom tour.  When you advertise that you're going to be Scoping, let your readers know about the topic.  Hope does this really well, and it makes me excited to watch her Scope.  (You may or may not know that she's a teacher at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta.  Seriously, how cool is that?!?!)  

Next, take a look at this Facebook post from earlier in the week.

Hope invites her readers to post questions that will be answered in a future blog post.  This is an excellent way to lead traffic to your blog.  A lot of us share articles and great posts that we see and include questions with those posts, but I love the idea of having your readers post questions to fuel a future blog post.  Again, a cool looking graphic with specific information.  I love that and think that it's really effective for her.  

My second feature is the amazing Cara Carroll of The First Grade Parade.  I know you all know her, she's a superstar just like Hope King.  

I've followed Cara for a long time, and I will always recognize her posts.  Like Hope, she has a distinct style.  This is important!  She uses fonts and graphics that are similar over and over.  Her style is whimsical and kind of shabby-chic. That always makes me think of the south, and she's a Texas blogger.  It fits her! Tailor your page to fit you.  You're representing yourself and your brand, so it should be something that is cohesive and true.  

Let's take a look at product advertisement. 

Here, Cara is advertising some of her wonderful products.  She does so in a manner that showcases her style and presents a professional looking graphic.  It isn't just a cover page.  By grouping multiple products together, it makes the reader want to browse around the store.  This will result in multiple sales, which is always a good thing.  

My last point is to focus on the type of content that your posting.  Advertising is our biggest platform, but you also want to engage your readers.  

You see here that Cara took time to ask her readers a thought provoking question.  This results in discussion, which results in traffic to your page.  We all want as much traffic as possible, right?  It also helps you to make connections with your readers.  It helps your readers get to know you.  I am often more likely to buy something from someone that I "know" (over the internet) and really like.  I want to support my friends and their ventures.  

Let's wrap it up with a few points to remember:

• Engage your readers using discussion points. Use this to lead your readers to your blog or store.
• Make your graphics eye catching and easy to read.
• Make your style recognizable.  
• Post often, but not so often that it's annoying. Daily works well. 

Thank you SO much for stopping by my blog!  I'm so glad that you did, and I hope you picked up a little bit of knowledge along the way.  Don't forget to share your successes with using #tptSMsurge. 

If you haven't already done it, be sure to download our social media planner and organizer.  It's a freebie!

Have a great day!

-Lauren