by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth
We have some smart people on this blog. Many are on top of social media and all of its recent changes. Others are having successful success at building platforms with beaucoup followers to promote their writing and teaching.
I’m not one of them.
Social media, technology, building platforms—they’re a jungle to me. Robert Frost wrote about two roads diverging in a yellow wood. This is more like the Atlanta highway system. Or a bowl of tangled spaghetti.
One problem with social media is it continues to change even as we speak. Companies come and go. Sometimes merge. We watch the users come and go. Not to mention the ever-changing algorithm alligators. When you’re in the jungle, you only see a part of the path among the trees. Is it headed where you think it goes?
I would love to share with you my carefully developed plan for using social media to build a huge platform—if I only had one. Instead, let me tell you how I’m using social media while hoping to remain sane.
How to Use Social Media and Keep Your Sanity
1. Don’t try to do everything.
It often seems like everyone else has their favorite social media sites. Often at a writers’ group or online forum, you’ll hear several people preaching that they are using the BEST platform, and that you should be using it, too. Because there are so many sites out there, it’s impossible to keep a meaningful presence on all of them. I googled the newest platforms and got a list of ten sites I’ve never heard of. (Go ahead and do that. I’ll bet your list will already differ from mine.)
You can’t, and you shouldn’t, learn every one of them.
2. Find your niche.
Instead of jumping on all of them, find the ones that fit you. On this blog, we have folks with a variety of goals. We have writers, teachers, podcasters, researchers, missionaries, grandparents. Each of whom could be best fitted for different platforms. Ask yourself these questions.
- Where does your audience go?
- What are your strengths in presentation?
- Which platforms do you enjoy doing?
As for me, I don’t see myself doing a podcast. I may do one or be someone’s guest. But to commit to showing my face and speaking regularly would be a big stretch for me.
Keeping a regular presence on a site takes a lot of time, energy, and commitment. Find something you are comfortable with and interested in.
3. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and to let them go.
I say this with a lot of hesitation. First, what you put on the internet, stays on the internet. No, it’s not like staying in Vegas. Instead, someone will be able to see it years after you’ve moved on. You want to put your best work out there and not put anything that might embarrass you or someone else. Be aware of the image you’re presenting.
Second, followers don’t like to be jerked around. If you have built up followers posting pictures of your Pomeranian riding in a ‘57 Chevy, you don’t want to suddenly switch to giving recipes for Korean kimchi. Be consistently different. If you love your pup and Asian foods, you might need to have to separate sites. Just keep meeting your followers’ expectations.
Recently, I opened an account on Instagram. Some friends who are doing well on it, so I gave it a shot. But it wasn’t for me. I’m not much of a visual learner. Instead, i learn from reading and doing. So, I haven’t been on it lately.
Could I have been successful on it? Maybe I was. At a conference I attended, one of the authors came over to me and said he was glad to see me on Instagram. Hmm. That made me rethink my decision. You never know who may be watching.
4. Don’t chase the numbers.
It is so easy to chase the numbers. I mean, the more followers you have, the more successful you are. Right? Wrong.
Instead of chasing numbers, chase your audience. Who do you want to relate to? What do you want to tell or show them? Some of us want to entertain, to encourage, to instruct. What do you have that someone would like to read or listen to? How can you present it most effectively? And how can you share it in a way that is uniquely you?
James Scott Bell, over on the Kill Zone Blog, wrote that we need to get away from ‘discoverablity thinking’ and get into ‘trustablility thinking’. Instead of trying to pile up followers, you should look for opportunities “to prove to readers that you deliver the goods. As you do this, time after time, trust in you grows. Consumers buy more from businesses they trust. Readers are consumers and you are a business.”
5. Remember your why.
Whether you are a new writer, a writer new to being published, or a seasoned writer who is learning that the jungle is constantly changing. it’s important to remember why you started writing. Why you’re on the social media you’ve chosen. Are you getting your message out to the audience who needs it?
6. Enjoy the journey.
Eva Marie Everson, in her post “Dipping the Quill Deeper: Returning to Your Olive Trees” here on The Write Conversation, wrote about a man who left a job to work a field of olive trees. By doing what he felt God had called him to do, he was able to leave the chaos of his job and find simplicity, quiet, and peace within his work.
“When I’m [Eva] asked, as a now-professional, what advice I would give to new writers (or to myself as a new writer), I always answer, ‘Enjoy the beginning. Enjoy the process.’”
Even in a jungle, there are beautiful sights to see and examples of God’s awesome handiwork. And as Christians, we do not travel this path alone.
Remember, this is supposed to be fun. Hard work, yes. But still fun. We are able to do what many can’t. And that God has gifted us to do this is truly a special blessing.
No comments:
Post a Comment