Social Media Overload, or How to Network Online and Still Have Time to Write
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LinkedIn. MySpace. Facebook. YouTube. Shoutlife. Twitter. Digg.
And the list goes on. With so many options available today, it’s easy to experience social media overload.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a big fan of social media and how it can help you develop your author platform and sell more books. But it can be overwhelming, even addictive for some. With new social sites popping up every day, how do you make the most of the opportunities social media provides and still have time to write?
Here’s my advice:
- Be choosy. You don’t have to participate actively on every available site. Pick a few sites that best match your goals and your target audience and invest your time there. Don’t feel guilty if you don’t have a presence on MySpace or Digg just because “everybody” else does.
- Check your web analytics. Review your web stats to see where your traffic is coming from and focus on the social sites that bring the most traffic. A great free tool that helps you analyze your web traffic is Google Analytics. You may be surprised when you view your results. For example, I didn’t expect much when I created a MySpace profile, but I generate a lot of traffic from this site even though I update it infrequently.
- Schedule time for social networking. Whether it’s every morning for 15 minutes or once a week for an hour, having a schedule helps you set limits. Your schedule doesn’t have to be set in stone, however. When you’re busy promoting a new book, you may spend more time on social networking sites. When you’re faced with a major deadline, you may spend far less time.
- Categorize sites based on effectiveness. If you discover that your Facebook profile generates far better results than your MySpace profile, for example, you may want to invest time on Facebook on a weekly basis and update your MySpace site only once a month.
- Consider automation. Using tools like Ping.fm enable you to update multiple social sites at once. Linking between your social site profiles, your blog, and your website also helps increase visibility with little effort.
- Get focused to get results. Just because you spend an hour a week on social sites doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to generate the results you want. You need to understand the best ways to use each site so that you spend your time effectively. Fifteen means of strategic social networking can be worth far more than several hours of aimless social surfing.
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Authors Need to Get Social to Get Book Sales
Recently I read a forum post in which an author said that she didn’t want anyone she didn’t know to see her Facebook page. This reminded me of a similar experience I had several months ago, when a new author declined my Facebook connection request because she didn’t personally know me.
Now, I understand the concern for privacy, and make sure that I don’t reveal too much personal information on the web myself. But authors who don’t make the most of everything the social web has to offer are really missing out on one of the best free promotional tools around. As an author, you need to connect with readers, develop your platform and audience, and get the word out about your books.
Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and the many other book and niche sites offer a great opportunity for doing just that. Think of your online profiles as extensions of your public website. If you want to connect only with people you know, do so in a private group. But make your public profiles as open and accessible as possible to develop those increasingly important connections with readers and peers.
And if you’re a fellow author wanting to connect with me on Facebook, go ahead and send a request. I won’t say no 
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Promote Your Book on Social Networking Sites
If you participate on a social networking site, don’t forget to promote your book to your network. Just looking at the industry statistics should tell you why social networking book promotion is a smart idea:
- In June 2008, MySpace had 118 million unique visitors worldwide; Facebook had 132 million (an increase of 153 percent from the previous year).
- In December 2007, YouTube had 77.6 million viewers who watched 3.2 billion videos.
- Worldwide online social network ad spending is predicted to increase from $1.2 billion in 2007 to $2.2 billion in 2008.
- Mobile social networking is predicted to rise from 50 million to 174 million users by 2011.
- The top search term for all of 2006 was MySpace.
- Social networking isn’t just for teens. The largest audience segment is between 35 and 54, comprising 40 percent of total users.
Looking for a way to get started? Connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, XING, and MySpace. Also look for niche sites that fit your target reader profile. There are social networking sites for dog lovers, moms, skiers, surfers, mystery lovers, romance readers, and dozens more. To find them, just Google “social networking.”
Remember to follow the required etiquette of each site in terms of promotion. In general, you’ll get better results as an active participant than you will as a mere promoter.
Tags: book marketing, book publicity, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, online book promotionRelated posts
The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking Is Now Available
My 25th book, The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking, is now available!
Endorsed by numerous industry leaders, The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking offers both practical advice and real world scenarios to help you make the most of sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and MySpace for business purposes.
Purchase on Amazon
Purchase on Barnes & Noble
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15 Favorite Ways to Develop Your Author Platform
Here are my 15 favorite ways to develop your author platform. Please use comments to add your own. And don’t forget to read my original post on author platforms below!
- Get credentials related to your specialty
- Join and participate in professional associations
- Create a website that demonstrates your expertise
- Publish a blog
- Publish a podcast
- Write and publish articles (online or in print publications)
- Publish an ezine
- Volunteer or do perform pro bono work
- Serve on committees and panels
- Teach — online and off
- Get quoted in magazines and newspapers
- Participate in social networks
- Give speeches
- Get on radio and TV
- Create a PR campaign — both online and off
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Interactive Social Media Site for Book Lovers
An author/publisher friend of mine recently alerted me to another new opportunity for promoting books online. It’s called Shelfari and is a free, interactive social media site for book lovers. I just joined today so am still exploring this site, but can already see many ways that you could use it to promote your books as well as interact with readers and other authors. If you do join, feel free to search on my name and add me as friend.
Tags: ShelfariThe Book Marketing Network
Here’s yet another social networking opportunity for authors, the Book Marketing Network on Ning, created by book marketing guru John Kremer
You can also start your own social network on Ning on a topic related to your own book.
Do You Digg It?
A reader recently asked me about the little icons under the Share and Enjoy heading on each blog post. They come from a WordPress plug-in called Sociable, which makes it easy for you to link any of your favorite postings on The-Web Savvy Writer blog to your favorite social bookmarking site, such as del.icio.us or Digg.
I recommend that you use a similar tool to make it easy for readers to do the same on your blog. Social bookmarking has a viral affect and a popular post that many people bookmark can draw more traffic to your site. My blog analytics already indicate a number of new site visitors who found out about my blog through a social bookmarking site.
Online Networking for Author-Entrepreneurs
I just came across this article and enjoyed it: Online Networking for Author-Entrepreneurs.
I definitely recommend developing at least two online networks of your own. One should focus on the author/publisher community and the other on the topic of your books. If you write about more than one topic or write both fiction and nonfiction, you could have more than one network.
In addition to generating book sales, these online networks can be a source of valuable advice and information that’s simply not available in your own limited geographic location.
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Patrice-Anne Rutledge is a bestselling author of 26 books translated into 11 languages who has been featured on CNN, Inc., CareerBuilder, AOL, Global Business and dozens of other publications around the world. She is an online book promotion expert who holds the designation of Certified eMarketer (CeM).
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