The Best of Matthew Kobach: Big Ideas From His Last 3,000 Tweets
Dear Everybody,
Matthew Kobach runs social media for the New York Stock Exchange. He also tweets about social media, marketing, and creativity.
I organized and distilled his last 3,000 tweets into a summary of his big ideas, in three parts:
Social Media, Marketing, and Life Philosophy
Comparing Social Networks
Social Media Tips
PART ONE: SOCIAL MEDIA, MARKETING, AND LIFE PHILOSOPHY
Add value…
People only read stuff that will benefit them
People only care about what your brand can do for them
Posting the wrong content can cost you your audience
The more value you provide, the easier it is to attract
I just got you to read this tweet by speaking to your needs
If you’re a brand you can stick to just posting content that your audience might actually enjoy
State your value…
I’m just trying to make branded social media suck less
I’m just out here trying to separate the wheat from the chaff
I just try to tweet things people actually want to read
I try to use words to simplify complex ideas
I try to be a lighthouse for like-minded people, all while working to improve my ability to communicate ideas
Convey how your profile might be useful
Follow wisely…
Follow people who are better thinkers than you
Follow people who are different thinkers than you
Follow people who are better than you at what you do
Follow what interests you
Who you are on Twitter is largely dependent on who you follow on Twitter
Pay attention…
Focus on other people’s needs, and surround yourself with people who do the same
The most flattering thing you can do for someone is to listen to them
Charismatic people make you feel like you’re the only person who matters
Let the other person do most of the talking
Understand people…
Understanding people is just as important as understanding platforms
If you want to understand how people use technology to communicate, you first need to understand how people communicate without it
By understanding how our brains are hardwired, you can better predict how we will use any new technology
We operate more on feelings and emotions than facts and rationales
Understand how people consume content before you begin creating content
Most people don’t voluntarily consume ads
Sometimes there is no playbook and you have to operate solely on instinct
People don’t follow you for other people’s thoughts
Sometimes what people want is the opposite of what people say they want
Knowing what people actually want is much more important than knowing what people say they want
We only think we know what we want (when, in fact, we don’t know what we want)
Understand the medium…
We weren’t designed to use social media; social media was designed to use us.
Social media would be more accurately described as social signaling
“Social media” is more accurately described as “social status media”
Refusing to post bad content is just as important as posting great content
You can only use social media to channel existing desire and direct it towards your product or service
The more you learn about social media the more you learn how much more there is to learn
Social media marketing requires as much learning as it does unlearning
Tweet what you like…
Tweet about things you’re passionate about
Tweet about things you find interesting
Tweet the stuff you’d like to see in your newsfeed
Tweet the right stuff and eventually the right people find you
Learn by doing…
If you want to understand something better, tweet about it
A great way to better understand anything is to talk to people about it
The best way to make sure knowledge sticks is to apply it
The goal is to become a better writer, to meet interesting people, and to better understand yourself
Post, and post often…
Tweeting helps you figure out who you are
Kids learn stuff by jumping in and just going for it
The more you do it the better you get
You can’t become better at writing tweets without writing tweets
Post at least one tweet every day (to become a better writer)
Consistency leads to proficiency (and social media rewards proficiency)
Expecting to be good at social media without any practice is like expecting to write a bestselling novel on your first try
Focus…
You don't need more time (you need more focused time)
You’re either doing one thing fully (or you’re doing multiple things partially)
Take the time to do one thing, and only one thing, deeply
If you don’t know what you should be working on, everything is a distraction
Having no creative constraints is a constraint
A good way to figure out what you want to do is to first figure out what you don’t want to do
Build for a rainy day…
Take the time to build an engaged audience so that when you have something you want people to hear, they are already eager to listen
Build an engaged audience when you don't need to so you don't need to
Exercise before you have to (so you don’t have to)
Be niche and be consistent…
Start with a niche and expand from there (the reserve doesn’t work)
Building a community on social media cannot be achieved by posting one great piece of content
The benefit of content compounds
The value of an ad isn’t in a single ad, it’s in the accumulation of ads
Post content that resonates over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...
Do what currently works…
There’s the stuff that used to work and the stuff that currently works
Never be married to an idea that used to work
There are also a lot of social media “best practices” that were never true to begin with
Don’t create something just to “put it on social media” (a spoon is a great tool but that doesn’t mean you can use it to cut a steak)
Don’t forget, the content actually needs to be good…
Focus on relevant content
Focus on great content for social media
Know what content won’t work
Without quality, everything else is moot
Don’t forget, great content spreads…
Create something that compels people to tell their friends
Provide such an outstanding experience that people willingly share it with everyone they know
Spend as much time figuring out how to get people to stop and watch your content as you do creating the content itself
Write well…
I scroll past poorly written tweets (and so does everyone else)
A well-written tweet is a work of art
Social media is a light medium, so write casually
Communication is less about adding things, and more about ruthlessly subtracting every single element that fails to increase the clarity of your message
When you write to impress, you don’t (when you write to communicate, you impress)
You can build a community based on nothing more than your clarity of thinking and writing
Simplify your writing (because people have better things to do than read your advertisements)
Pack as much wisdom as you can into the least amount of characters possible, all while keeping it easy to read
Make your social media posts easy to read because if you don’t there’s an easier post to read right underneath yours
How you deliver the message is just as important as the message itself
Some tweets contain more wisdom than most books
Be honest (with yourself and others)…
Being honest with who you are is a superpower
Being honest about what your brand stands for is a superpower
The more honest you are with yourself, the less anyone else can hurt you
The more honest and open relationships are the more interesting and enjoyable they are
The most interesting thing you can say is also the most honest
Here’s my method (yours will be different):
My Twitter is mostly just a public journal
I apply what I know about evolutionary psychology to social media so that I better understand how we use this form of communication
When I come across a new idea that resonates with me, I apply it to my own life (then I synthesize it and tweet it)
I only mind posting content that I’m not proud of
My favorite tweets are the ones that make me go “damn, why didn’t I think of that?”
Reflections on stealing ideas…
There’s no such thing as an original idea
Everyone steals ideas. I just admit it
All my best work is stolen
Don’t copy style (find your own voice)
Someone might be able to steal your ideas (but they will never be able to steal your ability to come up with ideas)
Life advice for myself disguised as marketing advice for others…
No one is thinking about you as much as you think they are
Be generous and give others the benefit of the doubt
Life is a lot more fun when you don’t take it personally
Laugh at yourself before anyone else can
Just because life is complicated doesn’t mean you should complicate it
Develop your ability to deal with uncertainty
Don’t pay too much attention to the critics
Do something that is really difficult that really scares you
Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing
Nothing sparks creative inspiration quite like a long walk
Don’t ask if it will make you happy today, ask if it will make you happy tomorrow
If there is nothing you can do to fix a situation, complaining about it only makes it worse
Appreciate the simple pleasures of life
In general..
If you never ask, the answer is always “no”
If people do it in real life, they will probably use social media to do it
If you want someone to date you, first become someone worth dating
If you want people to follow you, you better have something to say
If you currently have your health, financial stability, and people who love you, don’t take it for granted
In sum…
If social media feels like work, you’re doing it wrong
Pour yourself a drink
Have some Chipotle
PART TWO: COMPARING SOCIAL NETWORKS
The reason why Instagram has more users than Twitter
It’s easier to post a photo than an idea
Instagram is the party with all the pretty people
Twitter is the party with all the interesting people
People who look like models have an advantage on Instagram the same way people who are witty writers have an advantage on Twitter
It takes different skills to be good at Twitter than it does to be good at TikTok than it does to be good at IG than it does to be good at YouTube than it does to be good at LinkedIn than it does to be good at Snapchat
(This is what makes mastering social media so difficult)
A Twitter influencer is someone you aspire to think like
An Instagram influencer is someone you aspire to be like
Twitter is better at making you think
Instagram is better at making you feel
Twitter:
Keep up to date with information
Snapchat:
Keep up to date your friends
Instagram:
Keep up to date with trends
YouTube:
Keep up to date with your interests
Facebook:
Keep up to date with your groups
LinkedIn:
Keep up to date with your resume
Twitter:
Follow interesting people
Facebook:
Follow your family
YouTube:
Follow entertainers
Snapchat:
Follow your friends
Instagram:
Follow beauty
LinkedIn:
Follow your coworkers
TikTok
Doesn’t matter who you follow
The fastest way to become popular on Instagram is to hang out with people who are popular on Instagram
Twitter: Synthesized ideas
Instagram: Aesthetic beauty
Pinterest: Discover inspiration
YouTube: Endless entertainment
TikTok: Clever irreverence
Snapchat: Unfiltered friendship
LinkedIn: Professional connections
Facebook: Click here
PART THREE: SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS
Cheatsheet for writing better tweets:
One idea per tweet
Write for clarity first
Write for wit second
Delete superfluous words
Use analogies when possible
Bad formatting can ruin a great tweet
Process for writing tweets:
First, write the tweet
Then play with the order: take the last line and make it the first line; take the beginning of a sentence and move it to the end
Delete superfluous words
Read it for clarity
Then read it again for art
Finally, post it
Making tweets easier to read:
One comma maximum per sentence
Use lists over sentences when possible
Never use a period if your tweet is only one sentence (or if it’s part of a list)
Grow your social media following:
Decide why people should follow you
Create content in support of your why
Refuse to post content that does not support your why
Consistently post that content
Post more of what resonates, less of what doesn’t
I won't lie, this one took a while!
If you enjoyed it, please do share the Twitter thread.
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Sincerely,
Justin