Instead of having friends as on Facebook, Twitter users have followers. I’ve used Twitter for several months now, following people mainly in the Christian publishing industry. Some of the same people are friends on Facebook. As of today, I am following 49 people, and 56 people are following me. Some say that you should follow everyone who follows you, but I don’t follow people unless it appears that their content will be of interest to me.

What I Like About Twitter

• Posts (tweet) are short and often provide links that I can access if I want to know more. It doesn’t take me long to scan the list and read the things I’m interested in.
• I can post announcements about new blog posts to help build my readership.
• I can follow people I want to know more about and ignore the ones that are following me in order to sell me something.
• The new Lists feature allows me to separate my preferred follows from the ones I’m just following as a courtesy.

What I Don’t Like About Twitter

• Some people resort to text message language in order to get a longer message in the 140 character limit. Besides having trouble interpreting some of it, I see this as cheating!
• Some people must just tweet all day long. There’s a limit to how much I want to hear from any one person, no matter how much they know about writing and publishing. If you have that much to say, use a blog.
• I’m following publishing professionals for information about writing and publishing, not about where they’re going, what they’re having for dinner (breakfast, lunch, snack), or what the weather is like where they live.

Twitter Marketing Effectiveness

Although there are things I don’t like about Twitter (and other social media, for that matter), I have to admit that they can be effective. I do see an increase in the traffic on my blogs for a day or so after I tweet about a post.

Recently, a family in Vermont needed funding for medical treatment for their special needs baby. The mother let friends know about the problem via Twitter. Someone set up a page on her Web site where people could make donations through Paypal. The message went out on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. See the details in this article, “How Social Media Saved Jaeli.”

Other Articles About Twitter

Seven Twitter People Every Author Should Follow

Nine Ways to Promote Your Book Using Social Media

See my previous posts on Facebook here and on social media in general here.

Read my post on Twitter, Facebook, and Tweetdeck.

In my last post, I promised to share my experiences with social media. I have not experimented with all of the possible methods. I primarily use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Follow the links in the previous sentence to see my home page for each site. I’ve found that I have more to say on each method than I originally thought, so I will limit this post to Facebook. Others will be covered in future posts.

My Facebook friends include long-time friends, family, and writers/editors/publishers. I joined because a writer’s conference I planned to attend had set up a Facebook group. At first, I thought I would limit Facebook friends to writers, editors, and publishers. However, I soon found out that I had many long-lost friends on Facebook, so I decided to include them. Since I joined Facebook to promote my writing, it stands to reason that I want everyone who knows me to know about my blogs. So, why leave anyone out just because they’re not involved in the publishing industry?

Promote your blog: I have several blogs, and I often post an announcement that there’s a new post on a blog. This nets me higher traffic on the blog for a day or so after I post. I’m not getting many e-mail subscribers for my blogs from Facebook as I had hoped. It’s possible that I may be getting subscribers by RSS feed, which I cannot track. But, the increase in traffic, even if temporary, is worth the effort.

Promote your published work: Many published authors use Facebook to keep readers informed by setting up a group. Check out Rita Gerlach’s group for her recent novel, Surrender the Wind. I’m not sure whether you’ll get to see comments of fans unless you log in, but try the link anyway. For fiction writers, building a fan base like this is a must. You want your fans to be ready and willing to buy your next book when it comes out.

Non-fiction writers can post announcements about articles published in print or provide links to work published online. In addition, a non-fiction write can use a topic-based or cause-based group to build contacts. As group owner, you can post updates on your topic or cause, thereby keeping your expertise in that topic in front of your readers. See United Methodist Committee on Relief and Power of Prayer.

Priming the pump: In commenting on other people’s posts, I’ve had interesting Facebook conversations on topics that I’d never have a chance to discuss in person. Just yesterday, a friend posted a comment about an experience she had. I commented on it and received updates throughout the day. By the end of the day, I had an idea for a new article based on the topic that was discussed.

I welcome comments about your experiences marketing yourself and your work on Facebook. Next post: Twitter

Social media are a great way to build your contact list. Although there are several options, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn seem to be the most popular with writers. The first two can be used to network with publishing industry folks as well as friends and family. LinkedIn is more for networking with other professionals. There’s a great article on the Writers’ Digest site entitled “A Writer’s Guide to Social Networking” that covers these three social media. Take a look at this article this week, and I’ll write about my own experiences with them in my next post.

Meanwhile, for those of you who have not tried social media, follow the links below to how-to information on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin:

Ehow/Facebook or Butterscotch.com/Facebook

Butterscotch.com/Twitter

Butterscotch.com/LinkedIn

CWFI: Christian Writers Fellowship International (CWFI) Yahoo group requires a subscription to Cross and Quill. With about 100 members, it is an active group. Members write fiction and nonfiction. Overt promotion is not allowed on the group, although members are encouraged to report publishing successes. Update: Effective 2010, Cross and Quill is out of print, so subscription is no longer required for membership in this group. Apply for membership in the group at the link above.

CWGI: You must fill out an application form for Christian Writers Group International (CWGI), also a Yahoo group. There is no fee, so this is a much larger group. The last time I checked there were about 800 members worldwide. Discussions are made more interesting by input from members in places like Australia and South Africa.

TWV1: the Writers’ View 1 is for “advanced and professional writers in the Christian market. Topics are advanced and explore the entire publishing process.” Owned by Mary DeMuth, this group requires a membership application and there are a number of panelists covering a wide variety of genres.

TWV2: The Writer’s View 2 is “for beginning/intermediate Christian writers serious about taking their writing to the next level.” Membership application required for this one, too. You must choose which TWV you want to participate in, because you are not allowed to participate in both. Mary also owns this group, but the list of panelists is different.

ACFW: The groups mentioned in this blog are ones that I have participated in or investigated for myself. If you are a fiction writer, check out American Christian Fiction Writers. Member benefits include forums that might be helpful to you.

These groups not only help you improve your writing, but they help you get to know people who can introduce you to others in the industry. I invite comments on this post from people who have participated in other writers’ groups.

More on networking online in the next post where we’ll talk about Twitter, Facebook, and Shoutlife.

Networking is a way to develop contacts, people who may become customers or sources of word-of-mouth recommendations (referrals). It is “informal communication,” and it occurs in-person, over the phone, by mail, or online. You won’t necessarily make a sales pitch for your business with every contact, but you can use networking to establish yourself as a credible source of information on your specialty. Thinking back on my own experience, I realize that I chose my doctor, my dentist, and my child’s music teacher based on referrals from neighbors and friends. I did check their credentials, but it was the referral that started me looking at these people initially.

Word of mouth has always been the most effective means of promotion for products or services. Marketing professionals often use the term “viral marketing.” You know what a virus does to your body when you pick it up through your “network” of friends, family, and coworkers. An e-mail virus creates havoc by sending and resending itself through individual e-mail accounts. Each e-mail user’s address book represents his or her network. Each person in this address book has his or her own network. When network meets network, the virus propagates itself throughout the Internet community.

Do you have existing clients or customers? Give them an incentive to refer your services to others. Write down the names of all of the people you see every day. How many of them might need your services at some point? How many of them know someone who might need your services? Use your network to pass the word about your business.

More Info:

Word of Mouth Marketing: http://www.wordofmouthbook.com/book/

Article on viral marketing by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson: http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm

Networking to create leads: http://www.marketingpower.com/content18916.php

First, Wikipedia defines Social media thusly: “Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives. Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. These sites typically use technologies such as blogs, message boards, podcasts, wikis, and vlogs to allow users to interact.”

Twitter: Let’s look at Twitter first, since it’s the simplest of the social media. Follow these links to learn how to Twitter and how it’s used by other Christian writers.

How to Twitter

Twitter and the Christian writer

Lee Warren’s thoughts on Twitter

See my Twitter page, and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/emilyakin

Facebook: You can do more with Facebook. Your posts can be longer, and you can add photos and notes about yourself. Start with the how-to videos, and then check out how other writers use Facebook.

Videos on how to use Facebook

Facebook for Writers

My Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/emilyakin

And finally, advice on how to manage your time on social media:

General Social Media Tips for Writers

I invite comments from writers on this post. As I said, I’m not sure it’s helping me promote my writing, but I’d like to hear about the experiences of others. Comments are moderated, so, if you do comment, it may be a few hours before your comment appears here.