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"Engaging in social media need not take a lot of time." —MEIER
There are two important reasons writers should embrace and engage in social media: first, it builds a fan (or customer) base and, second, it allows you to interact with readers, which also strengthens your customer base.
Engaging in social media need not take a lot of time. If you plan carefully, you can execute a strong social media strategy in less than 90 minutes a day. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn might seem the most obvious social networks to begin with, but there are a number of writing and book sites that could provide as much or more exposure if you plan accordingly.
"Comment on others’ posts and comments, and always provide a link back to your own site." —MEIER
Facebook and Twitter accounts are fine; use them to provide “news you can use” type updates and tweets. But I also like to post helpful writing and publishing information on sites like www.shewrites.com, www.redroom.com, www.fictionaut.com, www.goodreads.com and www.waenetwork.com (Writers, Agents & Editors) to help drive traffic back to my website. Comment on others’ posts and comments, and always provide a link back to your own site.
I usually spend about 30 minutes in the morning looking through Twitter posts and re-tweeting those I think will be helpful to writers. I also look through all my e-newsletters to see if there is industry news or information I can post to my Writing & Publishing group on Facebook (you can join here). I do the same at mid-day and again in the late afternoon or evening. I don’t always have time to do this, but I make it an intention every day.
"If you blog, make sure you post a link to it on all the writing and book sites I mentioned above . . ." —MEIER
Whenever I post a new blog entry, I post it to Twitter, which automatically posts it to Facebook and LinkedIn (this is a simple linking process on Facebook and LinkedIn; just do a search for “linking to (whatever site you want to link to).” Join writing groups on LinkedIn, and follow agents and editors on Twitter. If you blog, make sure you post a link to it on all the writing and book sites I mentioned above (keeping in mind the 10-90 rule).
Remember, in today’s publishing world, it’s all about exposure: how many “followers,” how many “connections” and how many “friends” you have. That is especially true if you are self-publishing. So get cracking. And let me know how it goes.
About Marcia Meier
Marcia Meier is an author, award-winning journalist, writing coach and developmental book editor. Her book, Navigating the Rough Waters of Today’s Publishing World: Critical Advice for Writers from Industry Insiders (Quill Driver Books, 2010), was named one of “10 Great Books on Writing from 2010” by The Writer magazine. Learn more about Marci on her web site.
