In past posts, we've explored networking as a component of marketing for writers. All posts containing references to networking can be found
here. Most people prefer networking in person, but online networking has become popular because of its convenience and affordability. Since this blog deals with marketing for writers, I'll share some of the information I've found on how social media are used as a marketing tool for writers.
What are "social media?" “Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives. Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. These sites typically use technologies such as blogs, message boards,
podcasts,
wikis, and
vlogs to allow users to interact”. Read this entire article
here.The more familiar SM tools are
Facebook,
MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube. Christian writers might want to check out
ShoutLife. I have
Shoutlife,
Facebook, and Twitter accounts myself, and I'm still trying to figure out how I want to use them, so I'll share my thoughts and some links to further information on each.
Facebook: Once you set up your profile, you can search for friends through your e-mail account's address book or search by a person's name. Once you invite someone to be your friend, he or she must accept your invitation before you have access to their information. I've found several old friends on
Facebook, and I've been able to keep up with what's going on with them. It's fun, but it doesn't help me with marketing my writing unless my old friends buy my books or provide leads to writing jobs.
The best thing to do is check it out for yourself. Spend a little time learning about it, and then you can decide if
Facebook fits into your marketing plan. Here are some useful links about
Facebook.
Twitter: If you haven't tried Twitter, at least you've probably heard about it. Many TV news personalities are announcing that they are on Twitter. Twitter posts, called tweets, answer the question, "What are you doing?" People who use Twitter for business promotion will say something like, "I'm putting the finishing touches on my new novel." Others will tell you that they're out the door to get a pedicure. My gripe with Twitter is that you are supposed to try to "follow" a lot of people so that they will follow you. However, I've found that some people tweet constantly while they really don't have much to say. For example, I'm trying to follow other writers, literary agents,
bloggers, and Christian groups. I've had to stop following some people because they tweet about their personal life and don't provide much industry information that I'm looking for.
Again, you need to try it and see. I've found these sites useful in my quest to learn Twitter.
Shoutlife: This site is for networking between Christian authors, musicians, and organizations. I set my account up last year, and, after setting up information on how to buy my e-books, I lost interest. You can find and invite friends to your list and join groups just as you can on other social networking sites. Your personal profile page can substitute for a Web site if you're just starting out with promoting your writing. There's also a
blog option.What's best for you? For readers who already use these sites, I welcome your comments on how you've used them to promote your writing career. If you have never tried any of these, choose one and give it a try. It will take some time, and you're the only person who can decide if it's worth the time invested.