Social Media Networking: Be an Active Participant with
Relevant News, Articles, and Assistance
By Donna M. McDine
I haven’t forgotten my promise from my last post to discuss
LinkedIn, but like many things my inner thoughts have taken over and my
conscious is beating the heck out of my mind to chat about the importance of
personal participation in social media networking.
The success for any type of social media networking is
active participation. Yes, technology allows us to become automated in just
about every aspect of postings through cyberspace. The convenience of
scheduling blog posts to Twitter, then to Facebook, then to LinkedIn is a great
time save, but we must set a daily reminder to become engaged personally in our
social networking.
I admit with a red face I’ve been guilty of allowing my
automation take over and have become absent as a live person via my social
networking. I have given myself the good old slap upside the head and no longer
will I allow myself to become the absentee marketer.
As of late, I’ve downloaded the Twitter application (app) to
my Droid phone, providing me the opportunity while waiting for my daughter to
come out of basketball practice or religion to engage with fellow Tweeters.
This is proven to be a successful way of engaging for me and have connected
with current and new colleagues, potential clients in the children’s publishing
industry, and for those seeking out assistance with their social media
campaigns. Twitter works perfectly on the Droid phone because of the rolling
screen of Tweets. Thanks Twitter, for keeping tweets to 140 characters!
Luckily my family gave me an iPad several years ago and I’ve
downloaded the Facebook and Twitter apps to further engage with others. I
personally like the Facebook app on the iPad since it’s a much larger screen
than my Droid phone.
Mind you, I do try to keep my personal social interaction
down to 30 minutes per day so I’m not spending the majority of my time away
from my valuable writing, editing, Author PR Services time, and of course my
family.
Key attributes in becoming an active social media networker:
Share
relevant information to followers, friends, and colleagues (whatever the
specific social media network calls them). If you are a children’s book author
share… the latest publishing industry news you’ve read about, your latest
magazine article publication or book release, children’s book fair events,
children’s book conferences (such as SCBWI by region), your experience in
conducting school visits, etc. The list is endless. Important to note, don’t
make it all about you. Shout out the successes of your colleagues.
Engage
in online chats through social media networks. For example, on Facebook search
groups you are interested in joining… such as, teachers, librarians, parents,
schools. Participation is imperative, so I strongly suggest you do not join
more than 1-2 groups per social media network you are a member of.
Offer
tips and assistance from your expert standpoint. When a particular topic is
being discussed and you have experience in said topic, join in the conversation
and engage. You will be pleased and amazed on how much people appreciate your
feedback and they will remember that in the future. You will eventually be
known as the go to person in your field of expertise, which often times leads
to much more than you ever provided.
Don’t
fall into the “it’s all about me attitude.” This is a sure fire way to turn
people off. Don’t chat about your specific book or product unless the
conversation specifically lends to it.
Once you join a group on most of the social media networks
you are able to set an email option to be reminded of the latest discussions in
the group so you remember to participate. You can also set a reminder through
your To Do/Tasks option in your email. I utilize Outlook for my email and I’m
constantly updating and checking off my To Do/Tasks list, which by the way
gives me great satisfaction in checking off the latest item. Yep, I’m a list
person and love to see the list of checked off tasks! I tell my girls all the
time, if it’s not on my list it won’t get done.
Happy networking and remember don’t overload yourself!
BIO: Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author. Her stories, articles, and
book reviews have been published in over 100 print and online publications. Her
interest in American History resulted in writing and publishing The Golden Pathway. Donna has four more
books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing, Hockey Agony, Powder Monkey,
A Sandy Grave, and Dee and Deb, Off
They Go. She writes, moms and is the Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angel
Kids and owner of Author PR Services www.authorprservices.com from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the
SCBWI. Visit www.donnamcdine.com.
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