Interview with Chana Lynn – author of RaleighWhatsUp

You may not know Chana Lynn, but I’m sure you know her blog – RaleighWhatsUp. Chana’s blog is a trusted source of all things Raleigh – what to do, where to go and most importantly – who has the best eats!

Chana has lived in Raleigh for the past 16 years, so you know she’s an expert on the subject. I first stumbled onto her blog a few months ago when a friend of mine showed me the RaleighWhatsUp Instagram. Since then I always check Chana’s blog or Instagram whenever I’m searching for something new to do in my home city.

Because of her established authority of all things Raleigh on social media, I decided to make Chana the focus of an an assignment for my Social Media class. I sent her a few questions and she kindly obliged me – her answers are below.

What Social Media channels do you use related to your interest?

I use the following on a regular basis: Instagram (My favorite!), Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Blogger, Offline (local App), Cureat (another local App), Swarm and Untappd.

How much time do you spend each week on this Social Media Marketing?

That’s hard to say, I try to post or share on social 1-3x a day to IG/Twitter and post a blog update 1-3x a month. I guess per week its probably 5 hours or so a week. More if I’m doing more specific blog posts as an influencer or sharing an event that I’ve attended which could add 5-10 hours.

How do you engage visitors to participate and share their content?

I try to engage visitors by sharing/posting things that are current/relevant, something unique or new that they may not have known about around Raleigh or places we visit. I try to make the posts visually interesting to get them to stop and read and engage. Sometimes I might ask a question, often I will respond to questions and comments posted on my social. I often find that visitors/followers will tag their friends and family to make them aware of restaurants, shops, new openings in Raleigh and the Triangle, etc.

How does this social media engagement benefit you?

I love hearing from followers that they go to RaleighWhatsUp to find out where to eat, dine, shop, etc. I love getting local Raleigh people to spend time in their local coffee shops, restaurants, breweries, boutiques etc and support their local business owners. I think being authentic and real helps to grow a local organic following and this in turn opens up work opportunities for me to do social media or website design for businesses, as well as opportunities to partner with local businesses or be a local influencer for different brands/hotels, etc.

How does this social media engagement benefit your audience?

I hope that it benefits my audience by highlighting all the great things about their city and helps them find out more about things they are interested in whether its art, food, drink, architecture, shopping, travel and more. I think people enjoy being in the know, especially about where they live. I hope it gets people out exploring and engaging with friends in cool places in and around Raleigh. Life is about experiences and the more people are out supporting small businesses and having great experiences the more exciting and better off Raleigh will be!

As you can see, Chana is well versed in social media and uses it to tell the story of the beautiful city of Raleigh, NC and it’s people. If you haven’t checked out RaleighWhatsUp, you’re missing out – Click here to view Chana’s blog.

Since discovering RaleighWhatsUp I’ve fallen even further in love with Raleigh and the surrounding area – Thanks Chana!

Comment below if you love the city of oaks & answer this: What do you think Raleigh needs more of?