From TV to Your Social Media Feed: An Interview with Jenny Johnson

I will say that while social media is going to be ever present in our lives forever, one really important thing to keep in mind [which] is much more important than what you post, is the relationships that you develop with other people and other businesses and other entities.

This was one of the most important pieces of advice Jenny Johnson has to offer regarding her career in social media.

We got to chat with Jenny Johnson — producer, entrepreneur, social media queen, and one of Boston’s favorite TV personalities — about her day to day life and how she got to where she is today. Read about how she grew (and continues to grow) with social media, how it fits into her life and all aspects of her career, and how she manages to balance a busy career with her personal life:

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Social Media Tips from @HeyRatty

heyrattyMy my, hey hey … @HeyRatty is here to stay. We included Michael Ratty in our “Who to Follow in Boston” Twitter Guide because of his journalistic tendencies and also because he has the uncanny ability to tweet about news, sports, and politics while remaining someone we’d like to be friends with. And it’s not all #seriousbusiness; he’s also hilarious.

 

Hey hey, my my, @HeyRatty can never die. Because his Twitter Tips are now immortalized:

 

 

1. It sounds clichéd, but BE AUTHENTIC. Use your own voice. People these days have a good Bullshit Detector, and the knob on that detector is turned up to ELEVEN on Twitter. I haven’t gained Twitter followers by being the funniest or smartest person in Boston. I’d like to believe I’ve done it by being authentic. Not in a rude IDGAF way, though. When people start following me, they know they’re going to get snarky thoughts about the MBTA and sports and politics and movies. Oh, and lots of Instagrams of food. If those aren’t your bag, you probably shouldn’t follow me.

2. Don’t worry about who you follow, the cream rises to the top. Most of the best people I follow I learned about from friends. When you start seeing your friends retweeting articles from the same journalists and thought leaders, it’s probably a good idea to start following those people. If you consistently offer followers unique and interesting content, your follower count is sure to increase.

3. If the firehose of information is too big and you’re following too many people, UNFOLLOW everyone! Charlie Warzel at Buzzfeed did this last year (“I Nuked My Twitter Feed and You Should Too”) and I found it to be a fascinating experiment. I am guilty of this, as I currently follow almost 4,500 people. I am considering doing this same thing to start from scratch.

4. Hootsuite, Schmootsuite! Don’t feel like you need to use third-party apps to get the most out of Twitter. Although I use Hootsuite and TweetDeck for work and to live-tweet conferences and events, I find them too messy and busy for personal use. I don’t like the layout of either of them and, ironically, I find that it’s easier to miss something when information is flying through at breakneck speed. There’s nothing wrong with using good ole Twitter-dot-com.

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