Wednesday, March 6, 2013

IWSG March edition - Social Media Madness


Be sure to stop by Alex Cavanaugh's blog to sign up for this hop, and to see a full list of participating blogs!

I have a question for y'all: what's your relationship with social media?  I blog (obviously), and I generally tweet and Facebook (although to be fair, the three accounts are all linked, so it's not like I'm posting unique content to each site).  I do not Pinterest, I do not FourSquare, I do not Google+ or MySpace.  I know that as an author it's important to develop a social media profile and build a brand, but how much is too much?

I'd rather focus my energies on a few key efforts so I don't spread myself too thinly.  Better to be good at one (or a few) things than to be bad at a lot of things, right?  I just hope I'm putting my eggs into the right baskets...

How many social media accounts do you have?  Is there a platform you prefer, or do they all rank the same for you?


25 comments:

  1. Lara,
    I have a MySpace acct but since it's almost dead I rarely go there. I get email updates when people message me.

    I have Google+ acct but am rarely there. People who want to join my circles can. I advertise my blog there.

    I have twitter, but it scrolls too fast now since my stroke to read and respond, but I do get a digest of people who talk to me and I'll answer them...in time. I advertise my blog. What I don't do is a buy-my-book.

    I do have a Pinterest acct but other to scroll through some points of interest, I don't stay there. They will email me with followers.

    Facebook, yep I'm there too both as personal and authors' names, I occaisionally do updates. But email works fine there too.

    I blog and use it as a site for writers, readers, and other interested parties. It is also my website. I'll repeat emails that might be of interest to others. I talk about my books for readers and future readers. I offer general how-tos. In general it's about me. It generates my sales' engine or at least helps.

    LinkedIn, I'm there too sort of, they send me an email digest.

    GoodReads, I'm there too, email responses are delayed 24 hours. I will post if one of the groups I'm involved with says something I have an interest in.

    Amazon Author pages for various countries. I've got it.

    So as you can see, I'm everywhere but nowhere at the same time. I just don't have the time to be everywhere at once and write too. And for a writer, writing is the bread and jam.

    My blog is reproduced on most of these sites. A simple copy paste, and hit enter or a direct link. So if anyone is putting all their eggs in one basket, it's me. I've got a dedicate email in yahoo where I get all my writer-reader emails and updates. But it works for me.

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    1. Wow, you _are_ everywhere! How do you keep up with it all?

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    2. Email update and messages. Most posts are done with a click of the mouse or copying a link.

      There's only a couple sites where I'm there in real time as it were and that here and B&W.

      Delete
  2. I do not use Facebook-- I had it on and off for many years but decided to finally rid myself of the evil site a few months ago. I use Twitter, the hipster app known as Instagram, Pinterest and I blog... I have Google+ but I don't use it ... I also use Klout.

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    1. I've never heard of Klout--I'll have to check that out. Thanks!

      Delete
  3. I have a Facebook account, but don't use it for anything writing related (and rarely login at all really). However, I do think that when/if *fingers crossed* I ever do get published, Facebook will be an important part of my social networking -- as it's the format that most of my audience (YA) will likely use.

    Twitter - newbie at it, but it's really fun to network with authors on there. I will say I have trouble reading some of the posts that people send there from FB though. They get cut off too soon!

    PINTEREST. Ok this one for me is like my escape. I've had a ton of fun pinning stuff on boards for my WIPs and favorite recent reads and reading wish lists ... plus crafty things, recipes etc. LOVE PINTEREST. I'm not super active on it at the moment (I do it in fits and spurts), but I will say it is a pretty easy way to gain followers without trying!

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  4. I'm probably way underrepresented in the social media world! I have a blog, but other than that, nothing. This is probably bad! Very bad!
    But I like to focus all my efforts on one thing and I enjoy the blog so that's where I stay. I suppose when the time comes, I'll have to link it all up together so people can find me, but right now-insecure writer that I am!--I'm still hiding under a rock. ;)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Like you said, I think it's better to do one thing well, as your engagement will shine through and you won't come off as being fake. I envy people who have an effortless command of all the social media sites, as I'm definitely not one of them!

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  5. I'm with you -- I'm scared to spread myself too thin. I hear people talk about having a PIntrest and Tumblr and Youtube vlog account, etc, etc... but that seems like too much to me. I do the most outreach via my blog, a bit through facebook, and I'm just starting out on twitter. Twitter almost seems excessive to me, lol.

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    1. Twitter is so fast-paced I have trouble updating throughout the day, especially because I don't always have something interesting to say (which probably says more about me than about Twitter...)

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  6. I'm so glad you brought this up, Lara, because I feel like a fraud. I use Facebook, Twitter, and a few others, but I never spend any time there. I seldom go to Facebook unless I'm checking on my grandchildren. I don't read Tweets. But I post my stuff to them all. Shame on me. I really need to rethink my process.

    Happy IWSG!

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    1. Don't feel like a fraud! It's all about finding what works for you and what platform you feel most comfortable using.

      Happy IWSG to you as well! :)

      Delete
  7. I blog and Facebook (but only with family and close friends). I don't tweet. I have a LiveJournal account, but that is purely personal and for fan girling purposes. I have Google+ by default, but never use it in any way.

    Doing everything is too much. You should do what you are comfortable with and have fun doing.

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    1. Amen, Jen! There are too many other things to do than engage in the futile battle to keep up with all the networking options.

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  8. I only blog. I just have other things I'd rather do than focus on social media. That said, I spend about 30 hours a week commenting on others' blogs. That's a lot...

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    1. Thirty hours is a lot, but commenting is the only way I know to start building relationships. I think it's worth the time spent, in the end...

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  9. I have FB, T, G, MS, and L -- but I don't do any of it well! I am amazed by the first comment by JL. Wow! I really need to work on my online social abilities.

    Is there a place to take lessons, learn the short cuts, and not piss folks off by trying to sell the something?

    I like blogging and commenting. I think it's the only way to do as you said 'build relationships'

    Are you aware that Captcha is on -- it does limit comments.

    Thanks by the way for the Dropbox suggestion, my files and manuscripts are now safe in the cloud. I never knew you could do that for free. Wonderful, just wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Hi Yolanda,

      I wish there was a class I could take! I know that, as you said, it's best not to be in 'selling mode' all the time, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

      I'm glad Dropbox is working for you--if nothing else, it's made me sleep easier, knowing my stuff is always out there.

      P.S. I had to turn Captcha on because I was getting so many spam comments. :(

      Delete
  10. Great post Lara, this is something I have been wondering about lately too. I mostly blog, and I'm thinking of starting a second one but I want to get it sorted in my head as to its purpose first.
    I have a twitter account but it just posts my blog posts, it's too fast-paced for me to keep up with, I just don't have the time.
    I'm taking tentative steps into Google+ and getting the feel for it and one day when I'm comfortable I'll have a Facebook author's page.

    The whole social media thing is quite a minefield, and there is so much to choose from. I think for me though, fewer is better.

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    1. Hi Heather,

      Less is more for me as well. Have to leave some time in the day for writing, right? :)

      Delete
  11. Argh, let's see... I love Twitter, but don't have it synced to my FB... trying to avoid FB as much as I can - I set my account to notify my email for about twenty people; I go through those emails and get on FB only if I need to reply to something.
    Love blogging too. I try to get all my blogging and FBing and Pinning and tumblring (yep, I'm on all of them) done one night a week.
    Twitter I check when I can, on my iPod.
    Google+ I post to when I remember. Same with LinkedIn. MySpace just links to my blog :-)
    Basically, if I don't turn on the computer at home after work, it's good. I can read and knit and edit!
    But when I need to edit on the computer... it gets harder to stay off the internet...

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I have a separate LinkedIn for my day job--haven't set one up for my pen name yet.

      I think I may need to get that program that locks you out of the internet for a set amount of time--that's one way to not get distracted while working!

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  12. Then there're Goodreads and LibraryThing...

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    1. So. Many. Options.

      I'm going to take a nap now! :)

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