by Barbara Florio Graham
Writers seem to approach social media enthusiastically, tentatively, or not at all. Few technological advances in history have created this kind of response. When the computer became available to the general public, individuals and small businesses either bought in and learned quickly how to use it, or were tagged as “Luddites” who held onto their creaking Underwoods and still wrote a lot by hand. Some still do!
Very little middle ground existed with other innovations. You either owned a TV or you didn’t, you bought a cellphone or you continued to be tied to a land line, you embraced the camcorder or remained satisfied with still photos.
Count me and many of my colleagues in the “tentative” camp when it comes to social media. I have a Facebook account, but spend less than an hour a week there. I have a Twitter account but don’t use it because I can’t figure out what I could possibly want to say in just 140 characters. I find LinkedIn useful, and have set up Pinterest boards, but ignore all the others clamoring for my attention: Google+, Quora, MySpace, Ning, Instagram, and dozens of others that keep springing up.
Alan Norton, who blogs at TechRepublic, cites 10 reasons why he doesn’t use social media. They include privacy concerns and ownership of content. He’s also concerned about any online gaffes he might make that might spread virally.
But there’s no ignoring the proliferation of social media. Facebook had 2.20 billion monthly active users for the first quarter of 2018. And there are good reasons for you to get involved, if you’re not already.
On the other hand, you need to avoid some serious mistakes. Norton is right to worry about privacy and data mining. Be careful not to share personal information or opinions on Facebook, even if you’ve used the privacy settings to allow only family and close friends to see your posts. Use email instead, and save Facebook for things you want to share with a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. That means not announcing your next trip but perhaps, if you’re a photographer, pointing your Facebook “friends” to the album from your last two trips you’ve posted on your website.
There are many other ways to use Facebook to drive traffic to your site. Announce a speaking engagement, post a link to an article you’ve written, the release of your new book, an anthology you’ve contributed to, and/or similar accomplishments.
Facebook can be a good way to find old friends, classmates, and extended family, but don’t be tempted to use that instead of email for genuine (and private) communication. If you’re careful you can connect to groups with common interests, but block all those time-wasting invitations to play games. Look for Freelancers Working Together, which Dana and I founded. Anyone can join, and it’s a good way to ask quick questions of a wide variety of writers outside your other circles.
Just realize that Facebook often institutes annoying changes with little warning, and can be difficult to navigate. And, as Norton points out, any mistakes you make can embarrass you forever.
LinkedIn is strictly professional. I’ve found a few former colleagues that way. LinkedIn is the place to post your resume and important changes that are worth announcing, such a new client or even books you’ve contributed to or reviewed.
Yet another way to drive traffic to your own website is Pinterest. It relies on visuals, and you create “boards” where you “pin” images you like. Don’t waste your effort on pictures you find (and have to obtain permission to use). What I did with Pinterest is create a board for my famous cat, Simon Teakettle, with photos of him, his book, a link to his blog, and his calendar (with a link to the site that sells it). I also created boards for my books and for favorite people and groups so I could link to them. I have 221 followers so far, and have no idea whether this is going to be worthwhile, but I found it easy to set up and it requires no maintenance.
Several contributors to Prose to Go: Tales from a Private List use Twitter effectively to promote that book. As the managing editor and one of 18 contributors, I promote it on my website, where there are several pages containing contributor bios, the table of contents, reviews, and comments from readers. I also mention it on Facebook and LinkedIn whenever I can find an angle.
Twitter can be invaluable if you’re researching an article. Follow key reporters, researchers, and bloggers to stay current and obtain useful quotes. Twitter can also be a great way to build buzz prior to release of a new book or an event you want to publicize.
Writers need many different tools in this challenging climate. You can’t afford to overlook the opportunities of social media, especially if you’ve written or are planning a book, because social media is part of the platform you need to offer publishers and agents.
Step carefully as you enter this minefield. Limit the time you spend, don’t feel you have to follow every celebrity or reply to all those silly Facebook comments and requests. I filter all comments from social media to a special email box, which I check only once a week.
And keep your primary objective in mind. It should be to drive traffic to your website, your blog, or your books, not to fritter away hours at a virtual watercooler.
Barbara Florio Graham is an author and publishing consultant. The author of three books, Five Fast Steps to Better Writing (20th anniversary edition), Five Fast Steps to Low-Cost Publicity, and the award-winning Mewsings/Musings, she served as managing editor for Prose to Go: Tales from a Private List, which is now available as an ebook for just $4.99. Her website contains a great deal of free information, including resources for authors.