Writers & Social Media

As writers, what do we need to know about social media? Bluntly put, we need to know how to use it! We need to be able to get our name and our personality out there, we need to be able to build an audience before we get our work out there. Once we get our work out there, we need to be able to market it.

Each social media site works a bit differently. I do have a personal site, that carries all of my diverse interests.

I have one account on Twitter, and I share my thoughts, links to my work (books and blogs), as well as commenting on an sharing posts that have something to say.

On LinkedIn, I do the same thing. I share my thoughts, links to my work, comment on and share posts that have meaning, as well as putting up the occasional article.

On Facebook, I have a personal page that I keep private, as well as a professional author's page, and a page for my wellness blog.

I do three blogs a week - an author's blog, a wellness blog, and a blog for my flash fiction.

I also have a monthly newsletter that I put out through Mail Chimp, devoted to anything related to writing.  

Another important equivelant to a social media site is to create an author's page on Amazon, where all of your work that is published through Amazon, whether it is published by a brick and mortar publisher or self-published (Kindle Direct Publishing). 

(c) September 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.

Video Marketing

Marketing is not my favorite activity, although as a writer it is a necessary one. Making videos - well, I have not attempted doing that yet. So why am I even considering it? If I will follow a link to a video, others will too. And I have learned a great deal through videos placed on individual sites, and on You Tube. There are some definite marketing advantages here.

Videos have their place in personal branding, as do the social media sites. Together they can form a marketing plan ... on that cinches an individual's brand, and gets (and keeps) their product known. We have to "be" how we choose to brand ourselves. Our work, our product, as to reflect our brand. When our respective audiences can see us :in person", through a video, they can identify with us. We become real to them. Now, all videos do not have to be personal videos, but the ones that are will, IMHO, have a greater impact.

We also need to consider conversion rates. What percentage of individuals clicking on a link are then going to follow through and purchase? If we can connect with them through videos, and get them to identify with us, and our brand, we will not only have a single purchase, but we have an audience that will follow us on social media, and want to purchase that next book, or CD, or attend that net seminar.

Allow your personality to come through. I am who I am ... in my mid-60's, a conservative liberal, and a wanna-be writer of cozy mysteries. This is who I am, and any prospective audience needs to understand this. My target audience is specific. Who are you? What do you want people to know about you? Who is your target audience?

I love videos - each has a story to tell! I look forward to getting my story out there ... and to hearing your story!

(c) 2015 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.