By Mia Aquino
1. How long have you been using social media? Personally? Professionally?
Personally, social media has been a part of my life for a long time. I love the Internet, and I love people, so I have always been interested in social networking. Professionally, I have been working with social media for about four years.
2. What social media outlets do you use?
At The Huffington Post, I work primarily with Facebook. I am very active on Twitter and it is one of my favorite social networks. I spend a lot of time relaxing by looking at Pinterest. I also love the tech discussions on Google+.
3. How often do you post to your accounts?
Professionally, I am constantly posting news updates to the HuffPost Facebook page. I also post to the Huffington magazine social accounts. Personally, I post to Facebook at least once a day. For Twitter, I post several times a day. If there is breaking news, I am tweeting updates. I also spend a lot of time commenting and replying.
4. What device do you use primarily when posting to or using social media? (Computer, iPhone, etc.)
I use my MacBook Pro a lot – it is my first Mac and I love it. I also use my Droid X and iPad. If I am home, chances are I am using my iPad.
5. How do you balance your presence among different networks? (Do you post different things? Do you use one for personal and one for professional, etc.?)
I spend most of my time on Facebook and Twitter. I enjoy the tech and news discussions on Google+. I also think LinkedIn is very important for making contacts. I post different things to each account. If there is breaking news, I will put that on all my accounts. I only use one account for both professional and personal use. My advice: Don’t post anything on social media you wouldn’t want your mother to read.
6. How do you engage with your social media audience?
I read every single @reply, comment, and message I receive. I spend a lot of time replying and commenting as well. I often ask the question “what news are you following today” because I am interested in what stories are impacting people.
7. In using social media, what do you find to be the most rewarding? Most challenging?
It is very rewarding when someone sends me a message about how something I wrote helped him in some way. The most challenging thing with social media is probably the criticism you face. When you open yourself up to the public, not everyone is nice.
8. How has social media helped your business or brand?
Social media has been vital for my career development; I was originally notified about my two most recent roles through posts on Twitter and Facebook. Social media has introduced me to many people, and opened up doors for me.
9. Which social media outlet do you think is under-utilized? OR Which outlet do you see as an up-and-comer?
I am surprised people don’t use Google+ more often. Everyone has a Gmail account, and the Hangouts feature is amazing. I just started using Rebel Mouse, and see that as an up-and-comer. Rebel Mouse is basically your social resume and the front page for your social life.
10. What are some of your favorite accounts or pages to follow?
On Facebook, I love the Subscribe feature because many of my fellow journalists are using it. It is also great to interact with other social media editors. For brands, I love what ESPN is doing on Facebook; the page is visual and engaging.
11. Have you been guilty of a social media faux pas? Care to share details?
I spelled the name of a state wrong when live-tweeting breaking news, and my tweet was retweeted from a big news account. I got a lot of @replies correcting my mistake. It was embarrassing, especially since I consider myself a good speller! Typos are the worst!
12. How would you describe social media to your Grandmother (or Grandfather)?
My grandmother just got a Facebook account, and it is great to see her using social media. Simply put, social media encompasses all the interactions people have with each other online. It allows you to communicate with people across the street, or across the world.
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Mia Aquino is the social media editor for the Huffington Post and the social editor ofHuffington Magazine. Prior to joining the Huffington Post, Mia worked as a researcher for CNN in Atlanta and a producer for KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh.