{"id":1277,"date":"2012-02-21T02:03:34","date_gmt":"2012-02-21T02:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greeverwilliams.com\/?p=1277"},"modified":"2012-02-24T02:09:05","modified_gmt":"2012-02-24T02:09:05","slug":"how-not-to-suck-at-social-media-a-mini-guide-for-self-publishers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greeverwilliams.com\/?p=1277","title":{"rendered":"A Social Media Mini-Guide for Self-Publishers"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am new to fiction writing<\/a> (someday I’ll be comfortable dropping that disclaimer, but for now, it is what it is). But I am not new to social media. I have been using it, studying it and documenting its evolution in great detail for over six years in a professional capacity. So you’ll just have to trust that I have substantial street cred in this area.<\/p>\n

\"\"Social media is a wonderful and brilliant thing, especially for those of us going the indie or self-publishing route. We don’t have the\u00a0strength\u00a0or reach of traditional publishing companies, so we’ve got to be “all in” when it comes to building our audience, our platform, our community and our connections.\u00a0Building a platform through social media is not about numbers. \u00a0It is about relationships. And relationships are what will help us connect to our audience. \u00a0<\/strong>Here are the three cardinal rules to live by as you get started in social media.<\/p>\n

1. Be Casual<\/h3>\n

The connections we can make via social media can (and should) be powerful and productive. \u00a0However, if your connections are not personal, you are not doing it right. No, I DO NOT want to know your weight or what’s in your medicine cabinet. \u00a0But your messages, your whole online presence, needs to be personable, friendly, and approachable. You’ve got to be comfortable with the casual conversation that makes it evident that you actually give a rat’s ass about the person on the other end, whether it is a reader, a writer, a publisher or anybody else who chooses to make a connection with you.<\/p>\n

2. Be Conversational<\/h3>\n

Social media is not just a pulpit for you to broadcast a one-way message. That only works for the very well known among us. For most of us traveling the indie publishing path, we need to think of social media as a cocktail party, not a lecture hall. \u00a0We can’t just drop in, spout some wisdom and expect people to listen to it or act on it just because it came from us.\u00a0We should\u00a0mix and mingle<\/strong><\/em>, we should \u00a0refill drinks\u00a0and\u00a0start conversations<\/strong><\/em>. Be a good host<\/strong><\/em>! Meet people. Make a social\u00a0connection. Keep an open mind and assume that you can learn something from every conversation you have and connection you make.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n