The Best Status Update Ever

About three out of the six mornings when I go running I have an Aha! Moment. It feels like I'm having an epiphany and tends to add a bolt of energy to the remainder of my run. I'd really like to say this mental spark was a radical idea or sacred intervention. Instead, I'm a tad ashamed to say that this Aha! Moment is nothing more than the discovery of a witty quip that I deem post-worthy for my status update on Facebook.


Over the past month or so, I've been able to assemble and craftily massage several good stories into clever status updates. Here are a few of my more successful posts. (Admission: I do measure the "success" of my personal Facebook posts, tell it to The Boyfriend, and then brace myself for a giant eye roll.)


They say if you can do 20, you can do 26. I did 20. (in @:50) Now for the drink of Team Lo - My Bloody Mary! Go Irish
7 likes, 5 comments


I have never said, "F YOU!" directly to anyone before. This morning while running up North Street, I said it to a squirrel.
2 likes, 5 comments


Erin and Greg ate 24 course, I biked 12 miles in 4-inch heels, Peter caught 3 sharks, and Adam survived 2 grueling days of the Bar Exam ... I'd say it's been a successful week for the family so far (Congrats Adam!) 
6 likes, 4 comments

I also consider myself a connoisseur of other people's updates (more commonly, you might know me as one of those Facebook stalkers.) A favorite from this past weekend and a precursor to the first Irish win of the season was short, witty and thought-provoking. Good job Baby Bro!


Kegs, meet Eggs. 
3 likes, 1 comment


Okay, yes, I'm a little crazy. But there is a reason why I'm slightly obsessed with the status update. Basically, because it's my job. In fact, my actual job description includes being the voice of my organization online. Almost hourly, seven days a week, I am supposed to be engaging the past, present and potential donor throughout the online ecosystem. I use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, E-Newsletters, Blogs, Flickr, 4 Square, Causes, and our website to amplify messages and keep the Charity top of mind for the virtually meandering donor. After spending over a year optimizing the way in which my organization establishes a personality and tells its story in 140 characters or less, I feel I have a pretty solid grasp on what engages different groups of fans and followers.


Here are some of the key tenets and elements of creating a conversation-starting Facebook Post:

• First and foremost you need to have a good story. And a good story is not "Today I ate a slice of meatloaf."
• Then think about who will find this story particularly interesting and work the angle to appeal to your target market. 
• If you can, relate your story to another popular or trending topic. 
• Be frugal with your words. You don't need that many mostly because people don't want to read that many. 
• Add a photo.
• As a follow-up translate your post into the Haiku version on Twitter and see how it plays out there.

On the job, it's pretty easy for me to come up with something new and engaging everyday. My organization has so many great stories about sick kids getting better with their families by their side, donors and supporters finding unique ways to give back to the Charity, and significant milestones to toast. All I have to do is tweak the story a bit, cue it our social media audience, clip it down to make it easy to read, find a beautiful photo to match, and then create an accompanying tweet that has a slightly cuter tone. I post and bam - 207 likes, 33 comments, and 1 great outtake for a big corporate donor to read, digest, and use as evidence to resign their contract.

In life, it's a little more difficult to whip up a great status update. I don't have a cache of amazing stories and life in suburbia doesn't present them all too regularly. There's only so much a friend can take of my excerpts from Marathon training, kitchen capers with The Boyfriend, or tales of my party dresses. (I'm also not a believer in fabricating or manipulating my status to make my life sound more interesting.) So when a good story where I'm a key player comes along, one can see how I might get very excited and have such an Aha! moment.  

Yesterday I had one of those moments that might just be the best ever. I would say this was much more in line with the traditional epiphany than the squirrel that leapt across my running path, didn't move and ended up being on the receiving end of my potty mouth. Instead this update had all the right elements. It started with a great story. 


Boy meets girl. 
Boy dates girl for three years. 
Boy and girl go on a bike ride to have a picnic in Morton Arboretum. (That's like a zoo for trees) 
Boy and girl walk through a beautiful garden and find a lovely spot just to themselves to have their picnic. 
Girl lays out the big Notre Dame Monogram blanket.
Boy gets down on one knee and says, "Lo, will you marry me?"
Girl says, "YES OF COURSE!"

Next, I thought about my audience - That is, my friends on Facebook who much prefer to hear about my awkward imperfections than any romantic story I might have. 


Trending topic to relate to? Obviously - Amazing things that happened on Labor Day weekend! (By the way, congrats on your first year Anniversary, Abby!)


Grabbed a photo. 

Posted! 
"Better than Nina Ricci shoes, I have the best reason ever to stop biting my nails once and for all! To THE FIANCE, thank you for the best Labor Day weekend and status update ever!"


Honestly, that's all I got for now ... had to share it here first. 


Lo.