Social Media versus Marketing

On November 5, 2012, I wrote a post on Marketing Your Writing. Let me, for a moment, explore social media and networking. You can go to any writers conference or workshop and you are bound to hear that you must be on Social Media. While those who seem to chant this fact like a Medieval Benedictine Monk singing Gregorian Chant are right, they often give the false impression that by being on Social Media you are marketing. It is easy to see where the confusion is. You are marketing yourself as a writer and you are maintaining contact with those readers who have sought you out. But you are not marketing yourself to new customers.

How many times have you joined a group on some social media network and see the same announcements from people you never heard of proclaiming that their work is a must read? Admit it, how many times have you done that yourself?  I am not just talking about posting an announcement, but actually reading an advertisement.  This is an often seen mistake some authors make thinking that they must advertise on social media.  Social media is a reader retention platform not an advertisement platform, per se. I’m not saying you might not sell some books via an announcement through social media, the question is: how many of those sales are being produced by new readers?

The pros and cons of using social media:

1.  You are able to reach out directly to any of your established readers who happen to be listening to you.

2. Social Media allows you to quickly show your leadership in some part of the industry—if you are doing it right.

3. It’s free or low cost.

4. There are privacy issues and copyright issues galore. You have to be careful with your privacy settings—check them often, for they can and will change.

5. It is a time suck.

6. Very few new readers will seek you out on social media.

7.  It’s usually easy to get started on a social media platform.

8. Pay-to-promote—many of the social media platforms, such as the largest—Facebook—has decided to significantly reduce the visibility of posts in their member’s newsfeeds in favor of posts that have been
“promoted” for a fee.  It is becoming more difficult to have a page presence if you don’t pay to promote.

9. It is easy to publish information on social media.

10. It is easy for your message to get lost in the social media information deluge.

11. Social media platforms have a constant learning curve to learn their platform.

12. Each social media platform has a specific audience. For example, Linkedin is designed for business.

13. Ads. While your reader is looking at your post about some great thing you have published, they are also reading ads from other services and other writers—some being more heavily promoted by a publisher than yours are.

14. Some social media formats are designed for more visual arts than others. You could be on the wrong platform for what you want.

15. Judging if you are getting the most out of what you are doing on the social media platform.

16. The social media platforms that are popular today may not be tomorrow.

In an article posted on Pursuit Magazine, a Private Investigator e-zine, on social media, here is some of the most important and very basic things to do with your social media platform:

“1. Fill out your personal network profile completely

“2.The same applies to your specific business profile page.

“3. Include a call to action! What do you want the person reading your post or watching your video to do? You have to tell them:

“Like this picture if…”

“Share this video with…”

“What do you think? Write to me in the comments below…”

“For more information, visit…”

“If you have a question, call me at…”

“The trick is not to come across as spammy or overwhelming. Undoubtedly, you’ve come across this problem many times in your travails in social media.” --Conflict of Interest: Marketing vs. Social Media, by L. Scott Harrell , published on Pursuit Magazine http://pursuitmag.com/social-media-marketing-pros-cons/

We would love to hear from our readers as to what your experiences (good, bad, ugly ,and down right comical) have been with your social media pages and what your success has been with marketing.

1. What successes and failures are you having?

2. Do you have any tricks that help you get the best return on the time and money you’ve invested in social media?

3. What platforms have worked the best for you and which ones haven’t worked out like you thought? Why?

Leave your answers in the comments below, or visit my website, where you can find links to all of my social profiles. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com andwww.thewriterslens.com. You can also follow me on twitter @Owlkenpowriter and the Writer’s Lens @TheWritersLens. Fiction is the world where the philosopher is the most free in our society to explore the human condition as he chooses.