Monday, December 15, 2014

Social Media Monday—Basic Social Media Strategies for 2015

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Last week my post on Facebook Changes in 2015 caused quite a stir. That really wasn’t my intent. My purpose was to give all of us enough advance notice to make some wise social media decisions while we watch how everything settles out.

Today I’m going to share several social media strategies to deal with upcoming changes. Most are applicable no matter what your specific circumstances.

Basic Social Media Strategies for 2015
  • Diversify: with all that’s going on in the digital universe we can see the wisdom of not putting all our social media eggs in one basket. What many may not know, it that includes finding a base of operations to work from. This means we all need a regular place to blog, whether it’s our own site or a group site.
  • Email List: I know in the past I’ve let this one slide. Now that I’ve been reminded that I may not always have access to everyone through social media I’ve become more proactive about building my list.
  • Experiment: We need to be more open about trying new things and new ways to connect. That includes seeing if targeted Facebook advertising could be a successful part of our new social media strategy
  • Concentrate on Blogging: Now more than ever writers need to build a stable digital foundation. Social media networks no longer qualify as stable. Small changes can hold devastating results if that’s our only audience-building strategy.
  • Discover Where Your Audience Hangs Out & Join Them There: So often we make a fundamental mistake when we’re trying to connect with our readers. We expect them to come to us. Instead, we need to find places they hang out and visit them there. What does that mean? It can mean a lot of different things, from Facebook groups, chat rooms, online groups. (And yes, this specific suggestion will be covered in depth in a future blog post.)
  • Look for Opportunities to Guest Post: Along the lines of hanging out where your audience is, look for other sites that have a good following and query about sharing a guest post.
  • Read and Comment on Other Blogs: This is similar to hanging out with your audience. Don't just think of blogs as a place to get or give information. Instead look at them as a gathering place. Interact with the audience, look for new people to connect with and join the conversation.
  • Build the Basics on Multiple Social Media Networks: This is similar to my diversify advice for all writers. But it’s even more critical when you’re just starting out. Don’t just pour all your energy into a single social media network. Get comfortable with multiple networks and you’ll be able to weather the changes to come.
  • Don’t be afraid to branch out. It’s easy to get comfortable with our online routine. Now is the time begin to try something new. For example, if you haven’t used the boost option on Facebook, now’s the time to try it. Don’t wait until it’s the only option.

And the most important strategy for 2015. . . 

Stay Calm: It's vital that we don't allow social media changes to throw us into a panic. Some will work out for the best, and others, well, not so much. But as long as we stay flexible, we'll be fine. 

These are my tips for the next year. I'd love to have the opportunity to answer your specific questions, so be sure to leave them in the comments section below.

And don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

TWEETABLES
Changes in #socialmedia are normal @EdieMelson has the tips to keep you on track for what's to come (Click to Tweet)

Tips for a Successful #SocialMedia Strategy in 2015 - via Social Media Mentor @Ediemelson (Click to Tweet)

10 comments:

  1. Beefing up my email list, too, since your first post, and definitely need to hang out more on Goodreads Great tips, Edie. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Dora, great strategies! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Blessings, E

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  2. Good suggestions, Edie… I'll tweet for you.

    Any suggestions on how to expand an email list?

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  3. So agree about the email strategy. I've also joined TSU. It's a lot more user friendly than FB. :-)

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  4. Thanks for the good advice. One more suggestion is to get a group of authors working social media together. We've started a Pinterest group and we have a hashtag on Twitter and a Facebook gang. So far it's working well....need to find more people who are active for sure but we'll all benefit from working together.

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  5. This is my kick in the pants to use Twitter better. I also want to put some more emphasis on Goodreads. I love Goodreads as a reader and follow several of my favorite authors there. It's a place I'm comfortable, so it makes sense to attract readers to my author profile. I'll be doing a giveaway when my debut comes out in paper.

    I'm also exploring all my FB options. I have a new release on 1/20, so it'll be a good time to test the new Page policies with different links and see what happens.

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  6. The very first thing I learned as a new indie author was that we should develop a mailing list. First I had to learn how to compose a newsletter. Less than a year ago, I had about 52 addys for a newsletter. Today, I have almost 1000. I am not well grounded in Social Media. I hired somebody to managed my Twitter. My goal in 2015 is to post more blogs...and generate interest. Networking with like-minded authors is critical. The single dismaying fact I've learned in the past year is that some indies are not serious about a writing career. They talk about it and often take up valuable time I can better spend elsewhere. The learning curve for a new indie author is stupendous.
    JackieWeger
    No Perfect Destiny

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  7. Perhaps this is one way to rejuvenate the blogging community. It does take a lot of time, but the relationships are worth the effort.

    While I'm on several social medial sites, I confess many of my "eggs" are in the Facebook basket. I think Goodreads is a viable alternative because it's specifically designed to reach readers.

    Thank you for suggesting strategies to deal with the changes. It's never fun when things get turned upside down, but we will weather this storm.

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  8. Thanks a lot for the awesome Social Media guide for 2015. ;)

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