Photo courtesy Brantley Davidson on Flickr.com
So far in this blog series, I’ve covered the importance of a website and a blog in your overall marketing strategy. Now we move into the ever-changing and exciting world of social media.
When I was establishing my marketing plan I knew I had to include social media. However, I didn’t want to try and learn 17 social media platforms plus any new ones that came along. During a publishing webinar I recently attended, Brooke Warner advised focusing on two social media outlets, master those, and remember to have fun while doing it. The two I chose are Facebook and Twitter, so I’ll talk about those here.
Facebook
Facebook feels very intuitive to me and slips into my daily life effortlessly. From the start, I decided that I wouldn’t use this platform to “sell” to my friends. While I was learning marketing, I signed up for Dan Blank’s newsletters which highlight the importance of connection in today’s fast-paced techno world. So I’m choosing to connect with my friends and family like I always have on Facebook. Yes, I do update them about what’s going on with my writing career, because they want to know. But I also talk with them about my family, my kids, and all the other daily life stuff I always posted about. And I also listen, read, share, and promote what’s going on with them. Be a good friend on your social media. Another big decision I made, with regards to my Facebook presence, was NOT to have a separate author page. As a SAHM, I didn’t want to commit more time (that I don’t have) to an extra Facebook account. Reading this article by Jane Friedman helped me make the decision to stick with my own personal profile.
Twitter
Twitter is an easy way to grow community quickly. I spend 5-10 minutes per day finding new followers and I’ve built myself a nice-sized audience. My tweets tend to support my brand (Love, Purpose, and the Paranormal in New Orleans). So I tweet links to information about paranormal stuff that I research for my novels, along with tidbits about travel, family, and writing. If you’re finding Twitter to be confusing, then organize your followers with TweetDeck.
You may be asking yourself, “How much time and energy is this going to take?” My answer is, “As much as you want.” On a daily basis, I tend to post on Facebook once and spend 30 minutes having fun on there (skimming my news feed and commenting on friends’ timelines). Then I spend about 5-10 minutes looking for new Twitter followers and uploading a picture or tweet. When Voodoo Butterfly is released, my goal is to post on Facebook once a day and tweet once or twice daily. If you’re feeling writer overwhelm, read this article by Brooke Warner. Also, sign up for Hootsuite, a tool to help you organize, prepare, and schedule your social media content.
Writer beware! FOCUS ON WRITING FIRST. How many of us have jumped on Facebook for “just a minute” and it turns into an hour? Social media can become a black hole, so don’t allow it to suck away all of your writing time.
As always, your social media outlets are spokes on the hub of your overall marketing strategy. Your social media should point readers to your website. Along with a link to your website, be sure to include your author tagline on your social media headers so that your followers can see your brand. Read this article for more info on how to utilize your tagline and brand.
Next time we’ll talk book swag. Until then, enjoy your marketing journey.
Camille Faye | Author of Voodoo Butterfly
Experience love, purpose, and the paranormal in New Orleans.
*Originally posted on The Literary Ladies Blog
*Photos courtesy of Nic Walker from Flickr Creative Commons