Winning at the Social Media Game

by Molly Jo Realy @RealMoJo68

If you build it, they will come.

Social media (emphasis on social) is more than just "look at me." It's a mutual support.

When you place your focus on "social", "media" is just the means by which you connect. As writers, we are the first generation to have instant worldwide access. Why wouldn't you want a piece of that pie?

Before building your social media platform, it's important to know a few things:

• Facebook and Twitter are da bomb. That's where you'll reach 100% of your target audience. The other sites are just icing on the cake.
• What do you want to be known for? If it's being a creative, design your posts to share creative ideas. If it's business management, you may want to share ideas on personnel, budgeting, and the like.
• Who do you want your target audience to be? This is the money shot. Find a unique way to present who you are with what you know, and you'll be set.

Running a social media platform takes time. Effort. A little brain-powered creativity. Here's the good news: You don't have to do it alone.

Remember the emphasis on "social"? It works both ways. You want to share content to help connect you to a broader audience, right? Well, reverse that. Someone else out there has information and links you're interested in. Find them, promote them. By sharing someone else's posts and pages, you've still supplied your audience with information, while helping someone else gain status in the social media foray.

See? They built it, you came. Now it's your turn. Build it, and they will come.

This is where I pat you on the back and say, "Good game. Now, go get 'em!"

~With a big gulp of sweet tea, and a box of Crackerjacks,

Molly Jo

TWEETABLES

Winning at the #socialmedia game - @RealMoJo68 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Running a social media platform takes time, but you don't have to do it alone! @RealMoJo68 (Click to Tweet)

Molly Jo is a writer, editor, social media ninja, and producer of the weekly Firsts in Fiction podcast. She has been featured in children’s magazines, on blogs and devotional websites, and her short stories have earned her awards and scholarships from nationally acclaimed writing programs. She is the founder of New Inklings Press and author of The Unemployment Cookbook: Ideas for Feeding Families One Meal at a Time, and other books available through her website and on Amazon.

Her current work in progress, NOLA, is a location mystery set in New Orleans and is scheduled for publication in late 2017.

You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and her blog, Frankly, My Dear . . .