How to Find Your Social Media Easy Button

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Social Media—so vital and yet so frustrating.

As of this moment, there are 200+ social networking sites out there. If you do a search for the top sites, you’ll get listings of anywhere from 7 to 20.

And none of those numbers is manageable when it comes to building a viable online presence.

There is just no way anyone can stay actively involved on even as few as seven networks. 

So how do we decide where to focus our attention to get the most bang for our buck?

It's important for writers to have a presence on both Facebook and Twitter. And to find a place to blog regularly. These three components will get you the highest percentage of exposure to your audience.

And I advocate ONLY spending 30 minutes a day, five days a week, on social media. In addition to that, I suggest you set aside one to two hours to write weekly blog posts.

But those networks aren't the only options out there.  Pinterest and Instagram, as well as LinkedIn are just a couple of places authors can find valuable connections to their readers.

Does that mean you need to divide the pie even further? 

I don’t believe it does. While I do think you need to have a presence on all the major social media platforms. None of us can do it all and do it well. I think it’s important to find your social easy button, and spend the bulk of your time there.

For me, that’s blogging and twitter. Those are the two networks where I get the most interaction. How do I know they’re my sweet spots? Two ways:

• I look at the numbers (20,000 + on Twitter and 45,000+ unique hits per month on my blog)
• I notice what I enjoy the most. 

That’s it. There’s no complicated formula. Just look at where success comes easiest.

Your easy button may be Pinterest or Facebook. It doesn’t matter which one it is. What matters is concentrating your effort there. 

This isn’t a pass to stop with the other basics. You really do need a presence on all three (blogging, Facebook and Twitter). But just do the bare minimum and have fun hanging out in the place you like best. 

Several things will happen when you do:

• Your numbers of follower/friends will grow.
• The number of meaningful conversations (engagement) will increase.
• You’ll enjoy your time with social media more.

So I’m curious, what social media networks work best for you? 

Don’t forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Edie

TWEETABLES

How (and why) writers find their #socialmedia easy button - @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Social Media doesn't have to be something writers dread when you find your easy button - @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)