Social Media Pic Tip #2: Don't Be Afraid of Simplicity

Today’s social media pic tip is, once again, brought to you by Vivienne, our newest 10e20 employee who’s earning her keep by being adorable and by inspiring my blog posts.

A t-shirt and jeans…does it get any more basic than that? She’s not wearing a fancy or hip outfit (although she does own many — this kid has a better wardrobe than I do), but she’s happy and attracting attention with her winning smile.

How does this translate to social media? Well, a lot of people think that the glam factor is a huge part of social media success, and it can be, but you don’t need to have the most web 2.0 looking website or the most decked-out Twitter background to be great. You could have the most visually appealing site and profiles in your industry, but if you’re not active with your efforts, you’re not going to get very far just on looks. After all, a beautiful piece of furniture still attracts cobwebs if it isn’t tended to regularly

If your content is good and the effort is there, that’s all you need to worry about for the time being. Who cares if you’re using a default Twitter background or that your website is more simple and basic-looking than you’d like it to be? I’d rather have a simple, user-friendly and well trafficked website and active social profiles with default backgrounds than a beautifully designed site and customized social profiles that are never updated and attract little to no traffic.

Obviously, it’s ideal to have the best of both worlds: a visually appealing site and social presence that provides useful content to your users and solid customer service/interaction. But don’t worry if you can’t afford that designer just yet or feel like you need to constantly keep up with design trends and the newest, glossiest web 2.0 fad. If you’re keeping your users happy and cranking out updates and content on a regular basis, that’s more than sufficient. If you’ve got a winning personality, who cares if your wardrobe is a bit plain? Trends and fads will come and go, but jeans and a t-shirt never go out of style.