Five Things You Need To Understand About Social Media

Socia Malaise

 Socia Malaise is here to share what she found while lurking around social media for the last couple months.  Today I want to pick her brain about social media in general and why authors need to understand it and use it. 

Me: Good Morning Socia. We're very excited that you've taken the time to share what you've learned. Why do you think Social Media is so important?


Socia: I'm amazed when I come into contact with authors, agents or even publishers that seem to loathe social media. Here's the perfect medium for writer's who dread face to face conversation, dislike oral communication and need to think about what to say before it's said. This a great opportunity.


Me: I suppose but with over four hundred types of social media don't you think our voice just get's lost?


Socia: Sure, it's possible but social media isn't going away. It is here to stay and will continue to evolve. Yesterday it was My Space, today it's Facebook and in the future it will be something different.


Me: What's the most important thing to understand about social media? 


Socia: I like what Lauren Cerand said in her article on Social Media on Poets and Writers."It is a matter of starting to speak, igniting that desire for interaction, commentary, and conveyance of ideas that powers social media." What authors need to understand is social media is about building relationships. Those that are successful are those that understand that. 


Me: But isn't the purpose self-promotion?


Socia: Yes and no. Of course the idea is to brand yourself, build a platform and entice people to be interested in what you have to say. It's all about engagement. Think about your experiences with friendships. Have you ever met someone that's very interesting but after a while you realize they have no interest in what you have to say? People are looking for connections. They look for others that validate their feelings and ideas. It's more about opening a dialogue with your audience.


Me:Opening a dialogue. I like that but I barely have enough time to keep up with my own friends and family. How do you do that and which ones do you choose? 

askthepublicist.blogspot.com  

Socia: It's about gaining a steady momentum. Don't get hung-up on the numbers. How many followers doesn't mean anything if you don't know who they are and why they follow you. That's why "buying" followers doesn't really make any sense. Just because you have x-amount of followers doesn't mean you're going to see those translate into higher sales. 


Me: Wow! Thanks Socia. We're out of time for now but what can we look forward to in the next few weeks?


Socia: Once you understand what social media is and how it works then it's important to figure out which ones will work best for you. We will be exploring those questions and also be looking at who's on what media, what they're talking about and how you can be a contributor to the conversation. 


If you have specific questions you would like Socia to address be sure to enter them into the comments or email them to me at torres dot pam3 at gmail dot com.