The Social Media Monster

via wikipedia

Social media can make (see Amanda Hocking ) or break your career, or it can leave you in the dust wondering why everything is passsing you by (Homework: Nathan Bransford's article about Chances). As an aspiring author, I realize the social media beast must be tamed, but finding the right way to go about that task is...daunting.

Serendipitously, my WNBA group (books, not basketball) recently devoted an entire evening to social media, with some great PR panelists to guide us along the path to enlightenment. I picked up some great clues to grow my sphere of influence.

Key notes on blog content: 

Expert knowledge- Choose topics you really like. I can write all day about Turkey!
Engage your audience- Be approachable. Cater the voice to your audience.
Entertain with interesting material- Share great content your audience. The internet is a great place to mine!

Next step:

Tag your blog posts and create a path for readers to follow on your site. For example, say I write about Cilician Pirates... there should be several posts with that tag. Seed posts with teasers about upcoming topics. *ahem* Link back to posts you've already written. (I get the concept. I try.)

Take it farther:

Feed your blog into Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media account you have.
Arm yourself with widgets like Link Within.
Follow bloggers with similar posts and don't forget to comment.
Tweet related info or interesting bits about your topic. (This is where I fall off the cart.)
Find people who are the best Online Influencers and share with them. When (if) they interact with you, their followers are led to your site. Who are these online influencers? Well, they usually have the most followers, and they are the perceived experts.

Monitor Effectiveness:

Use Google Analytics for your site data to recognize successful topics and plot new ones. To compare your blog authority with others, try Technorati or another rating tool. (To which I say: Do I really want to rate my insignificance? Really?)

Reputation Management:

After the recent author review debacle, we all can use a little reminder here. We are responsible for our own reputation. This means a) not writing things that can bite us back, and b) creating enough good content to bury the odd negative remark. Another good point to remember here is that faithful followers are the best defenders. If you are not building an online presence for yourself, someone else will do it for you. Many people have pounded this into my head, so it's my turn to pass on the tough love. Also, keep your social media profiles current. (WTH is my password for Linked In?)

If you can't do it, find someone who can!

There are people out there who can ghost for you. Maybe its a family member, or a local small business.... It's your message. Own it!


Thank you shout out to the awesome WNBA Panelists who inspired this post:

Kelly Yale of Paper Blossom Marketing ( She reps authors, btw)

Rebecca Plaisance of  Macaroni Kid Charlotte

Lyell Petersen, Director of Web Strategy for cruisedeals.com

Jessica Daitch, Public Relations Specialist and Freelance writer


Also:

Don't forget to enter the contest for a copy of Tracy Marchini's new e-book, PUB SPEAK: A WRITER’S DICTIONARY OF PUBLISHING TERMS. I'm taking entries until 6 p.m. EST tomorrow. Results will be in Friday's post on Treehouse Hotels.