There's a few things that, through trial and error, I've found as effective means to using other social media platforms (i.e. facebook, twitter, etc.)
1. Pick and choose. There are so many social media outlets out there, there's no way one person can do them all. Pick your top three and focus your energy. I personally find Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to be the three easiest to use and most beneficial to what I'm trying to do as a blogger.
2. Visit your preferred platforms Mon-Fri. As with blogging, you have to be consistent. There are millions of voices out there, if you want yours to be heard, you have to be consistent in speaking up. I post something every day Mon-Fri on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +. Some people will discourage you from posting the same things becasue of repetitiveness. But I've found that I follow so many people that words get lost and I don't often see repeats in what people say. Sometimes I do, but it doesn't bother me becasue I don't see those repeats that often.
3. Don't Focus on Yourself. More than writing something everyday, you have to make friendships by engaging people. I spend at least 10 minutes on each of my three platforms daily. I look for interesting content and engage with others who have posted. The more I get to know someone, the more likely they are to engage when they see one of my posts.
The most important thing to remember when using social media to build your platform is that it's fun! Don't get upset if no one is engaging with you, do it for the fun and eventually people will respond.
What's your favorite social media besides blogging?
19 comments:
I'm in a workshop on social media and the instructor mentioned a new one that teens are into (can't remember what it is because I'd never heard of it before then). The class groaned at the thought of having to jump onto yet another platform. Fortunately we don't have to (like you said). With teens, there's always something new they switch too when the other platform because popular with adults. Hello Facebook.
Social media can be overwhelming at times (or is that my age slowly showing???) Your tips are great! We can't be everywhere at once, but should present ourselves wisely there where we are.
Twitter is about the only other one I use. I think it would be easy to stretch oneself too thin.
And "preferred" is exactly the right term. There are so many options out there that we'd have no time at all for writing if we tried to fully engage people on all of them. Even one can be a major time eater.
These are great tips! The key is definitely not to get overwhelmed. I admit, I still haven't got this social networking thing down yet but I do try to at least keep up with blogs. Hopefully by the time I get my work published, I'll have a better feel for it all so I can stay consisted and keep up when it's important.
I'm on FB and Twitter, but I never use my Pinterest or Instagram account. And I only use Goodreads to keep track of book read. Been thinking about tumblr. Idk. I like your pick three suggestion.
I use twitter, but that's it right now. I see your wisdom in picking 3. Your posts have been excellent.
It's a precarious balance. I want to visit and be in touch with authenticity and true comments, not just hurried "hey I've been here now come see me" kinds of responses, but it IS time consuming. Very well made points, as always.
My favorite besides blogging? That has to be Pinterest. Although...for me it's not really social media, but a great way to keep track of info for so my gazillion and five interests and hobbies.
So, I guess Facebook. I love how easy it is to keep up with friends and family on it.
Finding the time to do social media can be really hard.
When people were all over the moon for twitter, I groaned and thought to myself that I'd die before joining. Then I joined, and the hardest part is keeping it from sucking up a whole day! Social media ::shakes fist::
For me the social media part of writing (i.e. promotion) is so difficult. I'm not a naturally sociable person but I also know that it's the only way for people to get to hear of my writing. I have to say, I'm not very good at it :-( I much prefer blogging.
I use Facebook and Twitter, and used to have an active blog at MySpace. I've tried a few others, but didn't really get into them.
Great tips. I need to be more active with Facebbok and Twitter but my blog picks of most of my limited computer/internet time.
If you are not comfortable with social media, then try to pick just one platform and get really comfortable on that one. You can always add more later. I see so many people get overwhelmed trying to juggle facebook, Pinterest, Linked In, tumblr, Good reads, Friend Feeds....the list goes on. No wonder they get frustrated and quit. Social Media can be a wonderful tool, but take baby steps to build your platform.
The 'trial and error' is often 'trial and terror' for many. There are indeed too many outlets for most of us to manage. Very good advice here.
Twitter is my social media site of choice. Within less time than other services I found myself getting into more conversations and meeting more people with comparable interests. I have the most fun there and discover the most new worthwhile work there.
I can't believe I've missed such a great series on blogging tips. Shows how well I'm doing at keeping up with everything this month...Anyway, I just wanted to say that I went back and read all your posts for this month, and I think I've learnt a heap! Thanks!
I hope there's a class on this at Storymakers bc I need to take it! Maybe you should teach it!
Just wanted to say that David Farland told me about this social media blogging site called glipho.com and I LOVE it. I'm definitely going to be using that one. I've tried pinterest and twitter and have a hard time getting into those. But I love facebook.
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