Navigating the Social Media Rapids

Boy, it’s been a long time. I kinda burned out keeping up with the social media sites and trying to keep 3 blogs going. I am posting at Romance Righter (www.angelicafrench.blogspot.com) and Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time (www.sharonarthurmoore.blogspot.com) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I’ll be here on Wednesdays and Fridays. Maybe having a regular schedule will help you keep up with my meanderings.

As you know from earlier blog entries, I am trying to figure out the balance of social media and my writing and what role my social media connections can play in promoting my writing. Aren’t you, too?

Have you noticed that when you are submitting to publishers these days, they ask about your web presence and what your marketing plan looks like. Sigh! So, for the latest submission, I updated my list since I had forgotten stuff. More on my presence another time, but my gosh it is an issue to move up on your to-do list.

I know that many authors are addressing the issue of “web presence”. Read the recent Lynne Kennedy mystery newsletter in which she takes it head on (Who's Got Time to Write?
http://lynnekennedymysteries.com/2012/10/02/writing-whos-got-the-time/   ) and the recent Nancy J. Cohen blog (http://jhthomas.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-writers-view-nancy-j-cohen.html ) in which she describes how she organizes her day.  

In pursuit of the balance issue, I posed a question to my different FB groups: Chick Lit Goddesses, SCWC, LitPow Writers, and Author Tonya Kappes Street Team. Here’s what I asked:

I'm posting this question in all my FB groups: How do you balance the content of your blogs between book promotion and giving value-added content info (e.g., recipes, cooking tips, product reviews on my blog for my culinary mysteries)? What is the percentage you use of content vs. promotion?

 

The responses were interesting, and what a shock, varied. But 80-20 seemed to be the most frequent answer. Unless, as agent Sally van Haitsma pointed out, the FB page is your author page dedicated to that book; then go all out on that page.

So, 20% hyping my books; 80% content for my readers. Okay. I can do that. In fact, I think I am currently providing more than the 80% content. 

We need to add in KLOUT and any other tools that evaluate your impact, because, after all, it makes sense that there is some sort of metric attached to your web presence.  I found this article on line: 

"What does your KLOUT score mean?" http://bit.ly/gtd5AU

“What is considered a good score? Let’s say that you have a Klout score of 32-what does   that mean? According to Megan, a score about 30 shows expertise in social media. Above a 50 is approaching social media thought leader status.”

Will there come a day when we have to provide a Klout (or other measure) when we submit? More later on the balance I am working on. Peace (and go social mediate!).