Eight Secrets to Networking: Some Tips to Social Media and Blogging Success
by
Lois W. Stern
I’ve made my share of social media/blogging mistakes, more than
once feeling ready to throw in the towel. And I’m still learning. But I’m
hoping that by writing his article, I can help some of you avoid a few of the
pitfalls I fell into.
Secret #1: Social media is not about you; it’s about connecting
with others. Stop focusing on yourself and your book, and your audience will
grow. Instead, post about things that will inform or entertain your readers.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t mention your book, but focus on your readers
as you do so.
Secret #2: One of the main differences between a blog post and
an article you write for a magazine or newspaper is the opportunity to make
connections with your readers. A blog or social media post allows you to become
engaged with your readers, get to know them, answer their questions, and help
them when you can. Give more than you get. The more you connect and help
others, the more people will subscribe to your blog or interact with you, and
you will gradually build an authentic platform with loyal followers. This is a
time consuming process, but pays off in time.
Secret #3: Find a theme that you can link to your book(s). Because I have written books about aesthetics (outer beauty) and
also about inspiring stories (inner beauty) and wanted to feature both on my
page, I had a hard time deciding on a central theme, finally coming up with: Beauty Within, Beauty Without . . .What’s
Your Passion? Next create a tag line so readers will know right away what your
blog is about. My tag line is: Discover the Many Dimensions of Beauty.
Secret #4: Join Facebook. Once you are a member, start your own
Facebook PAGE. (You need to have a presence on FB before you can start a PAGE,
but I found this indispensable for quick postings from my blogs to various
social media groups.) Invite people to join by clicking on the LIKE button at
the top of the Page (rather than on the word LIKE under a specific posting).
Each time someone LIKES your page, send them a follow up message. As you get to
know those who LIKE you, stay engaged with the ones whom you think you can work
with for mutual support.
Secret #5: Join LinkedIn. Visit the groups that might be of
interest to you and just stick around awhile, reading their posts before
deciding which ones to join. Join just a few so you can stay actively engaged
rather than spreading yourself too thin.
Secret #6: Join Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest. You will see in
a moment how, once you have set up these account, you don’t have to do anything
more than a click to have your posts and/or images sent to these social media
groups.
Secret #7: Start your own blog(s) and post regularly. I use WordPress.com. It’s FREE and relatively user friendly. BlogSpot.com is another good one. I started two different blogs - one for
cutting edge physical beauty tips and news at: http://fabulousbeautyblog.wordpress.com and one on inspiring stories at: www.tales2inspire.com/inspiringstories Leave helpful comments on other blogs and always continue to
interact with those who leave comments for you. And that’s the secret of how
Marie Lavender and I got to become friends.
Secret #8: Here’s the fun part - sharing those articles with
your social media groups - with just a few clicks of the mouse. Each time you
publish a new blog article, you will see the FB, LI and Twitter logos beneath
the article. Click on the FB logo and select “Share - Groups”. A box appears at
the top of the screen where you can now type in the names of the groups you
have joined, but you can only share with one group at a time. LinkedIn makes it
easier as you can click on “Your Groups”, see the list of LI groups you have
joined, begin typing the names of each group into the one Share box, and they
will pop into that same box - enabling you to share your blog article to all
those groups with one click. Finally, when you click on the Twitter logo, the
first 160 characters of your blog article get posted as Tweets.
Be patient. Your readers will slowly start coming back to your
blog once they get to know you, if you provide interesting, relevant content.
It won’t happen overnight, but once people realize that you care about them and
are willing to share helpful information, all the pieces suddenly begin to fit
together. That’s when the magic happens, and you know you’ve accomplished
something more than simply being an author who wants to sell her book.
Guest Blogger Bio
After completing my first two books
on aesthetics (Sex, Lies and Cosmetic Surgery & Tick Tock, Stop
the Clock ~ Getting Pretty on Your Lunch Hour), I began writing what I call
my "Inner Beauty" stories - inspiring stories to touch the heart and
soul. Tales2Inspire ~ The Emerald Collection (Beyond Coincidence
stories) is the first in a four book series. Tales2Inspire ~ The Topaz
Collection (Stories of Awakenings & Aha Moments) is also published and
the Sapphire and Ruby Collections are in the works.
My innate curiosity about
potentially fascinating human beings was the spark that propelled me to
initiate my Tales2Inspire™ "Authors Helping Authors" project/contest.
I wanted to give writers from across the globe that opportunity to share their
most inspiring stories. One of my goals is to help these talented authors build
solid platforms and get some recognition for their skills. I also wanted to
create an alternate path for those of us seeking ways to strengthen our
opportunities for discovery.
You can learn all the details at www.tales2inspire.com
and even read many of the stories on my blog at www.tales2inspire/inspiring stories.
Social Media:
Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/tales2inspire
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyFabBeautyBlog
Wordpress beauty blog: http://fabulousbeautyblog.wordpress.com
Inspiring stories blog: http://tales2inspire.com/inspiringstories/
Amazon Author Central page: http://tinyurl.com/kxvby9k
Books:
Oh I love this post! So many times I need to be reminded that it IS about others! This is all so helpful. A wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteThis was very helpful. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteNice post, Lois. I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteRita
Hi Marie. Just stopped by to let you know that I have nominated you for the Liebster Award. For more information check here; http://wp.me/p4hChk-1t
ReplyDeleteThanks, Haven!
DeleteOh, I feel terrible that I never saw the above comments until a year later. Somehow I thought I would be notified, but I guess only Marie gets notification. Very belatedly, thank you P.I., Morgan and Rita for your kind comments. It's heartwarming to know that they have touched others in a helpful way. And thank you Marie, for all the ways you work to promote other authors.
ReplyDelete