By Jennifer Galardi
1. How long have you been using social media? Personally? Professionally?
Personally, probably about 5 years. Professionally? Maybe 2 or 2 ½, but I’ve really had to ramp up the effort in the past year. It’s amazing how quickly the paradigm for marketing and branding has shifted.
2. What social media outlets do you use?
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, blogs and Pinterest 
3. How often do you post to your accounts?
Every day, several times a day, or whenever I’m inspired!
4. What device do you use primarily when posting to or using social media? (Computer, iPhone, etc.)
Mostly my computer, however for Twitter, often my iPhone.
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 do have two Facebook pages, (one personal and one ‘fan’ page) but it seems many people don’t distinguish between the two. Because I am somewhat in the ‘public eye’ I try to keep my posts to health and fitness related content only. But my lifestyle and daily choices are important to my business and the brand I want to create, so the personal tends to bleed into the professional. I have to make a concerted effort to separate them. I use Twitter for more spontaneous posts, quick notes to help promote other brands and connect with like-minded people. But then my Twitter feed links to my Facebook Fan Page! Google+ and YouTube are partners so that’s all synched up as well. It’s one giant tangled social network web!
6. How do you engage with your social media audience?
I have yet to feel comfortable hiring someone to ‘Tweet’ for me. I’ve heard many people comment that they like me because I seem ‘real’. I don’t want to lose that connection with my audience. My social network growth has been a little slower than I’d like, but I prefer to be more grassroots about it and let it happen organically so I don’t lose that authentic voice. I want people to know it’s really me on the other side of their computer.
7. In using social media, what do you find to be the most rewarding? Most challenging?
I often get a lot of amazing feedback from people I don’t think I’d normally see. Someone woke up and ‘danced it out’ with me first thing in the morning, for example. Or how much weight someone has lost using my workouts. And in some cases, the comments will refer to how I’ve transformed someone’s life. It’s so touching and inspiring and really motivates me to keep doing what I’m doing, despite a lot of the obstacles. The down side? All the time that seems to be necessary to build a brand via social networking. It’s very time consuming and sometimes, I feel, gives people a false sense of connection. To some extent, you loose a little bit of your privacy every day.
8. How has social media helped your business or brand?
I didn’t get into the health and fitness business to become some sort of ‘celebrity’. I got into it so I could spread a message of health and happiness to as many people as possible. Social media is making our world much smaller and allowing me so many outlets to inspire people towards positive change. Now I don’t have to be on network television to reach thousands of people, and I can just about ‘work’ from anywhere. My new YouTube Channel allows anyone to access great health and fitness tips from anywhere and I can film them anywhere too!
9. Which social media outlet do you think is under-utilized? OR Which outlet do you see as an up-and-comer?
Google+. I just finished the coolest LIVE HANGOUT sponsored by SELF Magazine as part of their 13for13 campaign. These are chats that are broadcast live via YouTube, Google+ and SELF to promote health and wellness for 2013. It was SO MUCH fun. And viewers can watch the whole roundtable discussion after the event as well. It’s definitely a GREAT way to reach your audience. I’ve already told a few companies I work with how to get connected and start using it as a marketing tool. You can have many different people join in and watch, etc. It’s like a TV show on your computer. Very cool. 
10. What are some of your favorite accounts or pages to follow?
I follow some of my friends and fellow yogis in the health and wellness field such as Jill Miller and companies whose messaging is congruent with mine and my lifestyle, SELF magazine, LifeLine Skincare, Manduka, Juiceland, to name a few. And of course, my teacher Rod Stryker who always posts time-tested wisdom. I try not to get too caught up in who or what I’m following or I’d never leave my computer/phone/mobile device. At some point, the only person you should be ‘following’ is yourself and your heart. Go live life!
11. Have you been guilty of a social media faux pas? Care to share details?
Hmmmm . . . I don’t think so. I’m not really clear on social media etiquette though so I probably have! Again, I try not to involve my personal relationships, friends, family, etc. in my social media endeavors unless it’s related to health and wellness. If it’s ever questionable, I ask permission before posting.
12. How would you describe social media to your Grandmother (or Grandfather)?
Wow, good question. My grandmother couldn’t even get her head around email so I’m not sure how well she’d grasp the concept. What I would tell her sounds terrible, “It’s like all your friends and even people you don’t know, having access to your every thought, action and opinion.” I know her response would be “Why the hell would you want that?” Taken out of context it seems a little ridiculous doesn’t it? At times it makes me long for the days before Facebook and even cell phones! I’ve actually struggled with how much is TOO much. But as I mentioned before, if it helps me inspire people toward greater health and joy, then it’s something I’ll learn to embrace.
Jennifer Galardi is the star of several best-selling dance and fitness DVDs. She has been teaching dance and fitness for more than nine years at prestigious studios and clubs such as The Edge, Sports Club L.A., Crunch and Equinox. Jennifer was the fitness trainer for Kim Kardashian’s best-selling fitness DVD series, “Fit in Your Jeans by Friday.”
Interested in getting your business started with social media? Download the same tools WordWrite uses to help launch our clients’ social media, free!
