Find + Love + Share = Curation

 “There is no delight in owning anything unshared”

Seneca

Curate: to pull together, sift through and select for presentation, as music or Web site content. Dictionary.com

Before there was the social and digital web, most of what we saw as news and inspiration was the result of choices made by a limited number of professional “editors”. Today, that number has increased exponentially as platforms like Facebook have given us all the ability to become “editors” by simply curating (sharing the content that we find and love) for our online friends and fans.

A great example of this shift can be found on YouTube -a social platform featuring “gazillions” (48 hours of content uploaded every minute) of videos that run the gamut from impossibly amateur and uninteresting to highly polished productions (and everything in between).

One of our recent fave video finds is “1950’s Womens Beauty Salon” from Glamour Daze, a YouTube channel with 2.5 million views! We found it while searching beauty salons on YouTube, were hooked from the opening line, “To women, a beauty salon is more than a feminine barber shop”, and immediately knew we to had to share…curation at its best!

We also found this super juicy video on “curation” from devour.com (awesome video curation site) that simply and beautifully describes what curation really means and why it’s important.

PS: This blog was inspired by our passion of curating; finding engaging and empowering content that we love and feel compelled share.

(shared with LOVE from your curating passionistas Nina + Gordon)

 

Facebook Post

Facebook…Sharing The Love

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened.  Happiness never decreases by being shared”

Buddha

Have you ever wondered what makes a Facebook post engaging?  And by engaging, we mean the post earns likes, shares and comments.  Is it magic?  Is it a secret?  Well, maybe a little, but there are some key elements to consider in developing engaging posts on Facebook.

Facebook Post

As we write this blog post, we still are freaking out (in a good way) about the most engaging post in our history (that’s 2 months and 25 days).  Which earned 133 shares and 49 likes. WOW.

What about this post resonated with our Passion Squared community?  Here is our take…

Are you posting for your Target Audience?
Our community is passionate about making the world a better place, and this is done by starting with ourselves, which this quote was speaking to.  In our industry, we crave inspiration, growth and personal development, which is why inspirational quotes and images resonate with many of us.

Are your posts drenched in Authenticity?
The most engaging posts are those that people can feel the authenticity of your message.  The message from this post was just that, authentic, as was our intention in posting it.  People know when we are being “real”, the social space is no different, authenticity rules.

Are you enchanting your audience with Pictures?
On Facebook, posts with pictures or videos are typically the most engaging.  Makes sense, doesn’t it?  We all love images that make our heart sing.

Are you part of the Conversation?
The social web is the ultimate cocktail party.  Its designed for us to engage in two-way conversations.  This means its super important to always be checking your page, looking for posts, questions, comments, and responding, acknowledging and engaging your followers.

So many of us have thought that our Fan count was most important, when in reality, its the “Talking About This” number that counts.  This number represents the actual people engaging your page either by likes, shares or comments.

There are tremendous insights available on your “admin panel” of your business page. We recommend taking a look to see what your pages most engaging posts have been, and doing more of that.

Facebook has given us all such a cool opportunity to engage, empower and share with each other.  We are so grateful for our friends of Passion Squared and for all the love and support we feel from each of you every day.

For more info on Facebook Insights, you can jump onto https://www.facebook.com/help/search/?q=insights

We found this incredible image on Google, via a super cool Pinterest Board named Wordy Things.  We heart.  http://pinterest.com/lisapippus/wordy-things/

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina+Gordon)

 

 

Call Me Point B

“Dreams are like the paints of a great artist. Your dreams are your paints, the world is your canvas. Believing, is the brush that converts your dreams into a masterpiece of reality.”

Anonymous

 

This awesome TEDTalk by Sarah Kay gives us goosebumps every time we watch it.  Our words, our poetry and our art can be so incredibly powerful- uplifting the minds, hearts and souls of those who hear it, read it, see it and experience it.  WOW!

“If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she’s gonna call me Point B … ” began spoken word poet Sarah Kay, in a talk that inspired two standing ovations at TED2011. She tells the story of her metamorphosis — from a wide-eyed teenager soaking in verse at New York’s Bowery Poetry Club to a teacher connecting kids with the power of self-expression through Project V.O.I.C.E. — and gives two breathtaking performances of “B” and “Hiroshima.”

TEDTalks

 

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)

Can You Keep a Secret?

“Secrets can take many forms. They can be shocking or silly or soulful. They can connect us with our deepest humanity.”

Frank Warren, PostSecret.com

Who hears more ‘secrets’ than hairdressers? It’s part of the unique bond you share with clients. It’s a reinforcement of the important role you play in the lives of many – often unknowingly. As this Ted Talk  highlights, people have a need to share their deepest secrets. Doing so can be empowering. Never underestimate the power to do good by sometimes simply listening.

“Ted Talk featuring Frank Warren, the founder of PostSecret.com, who shares some of the half-million secrets that strangers have mailed him on postcards.”

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)

Facebook Manners and Matters

Passion is the gasoline of social media. Jay Baer

Of all the social and digital platforms, we believe Facebook is one of the most important platforms and one of the best places online to engage with salon clients and their friends, your possible future clients.

Facebook matters because:

  • Clients live there as part of this 900+ million person global community.
  • Engaging connections and conversations lead to deeper brand loyalty.
  • Engagement can increase salon referrals, real world traffic and client frequency.
  • Sharing your passion, brand story, voice and image with current and future clients helps them better understand your “why”.
  • Making connections with other salons, hairdressers and businesses allows us to learn, share and support one another. We are all in this together!

Now, for some entertainment, we present Facebook Manners and You, an official Webby Award Honoree for Best Writing and Comedy: Individual Short or Episode!

They define Facebook as the “Electric Friendship Generator”, we think that is simply AWESOME.

Having an effective Facebook page for business takes a PASSION for being social (engaging and authentic), understanding your purpose in sharing your brand, having a plan, and lets not forget,  good manners.

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)