Social Media, Marketing, and Branding Series: Part One by Edie Melson

Edie Melson

Hey everyone, Annette here. Today we begin a three-part series. Parts two and three will follow tomorrow and Wednesday. Enjoy these great tips!

Social Media, Marketing & Branding Basics Part One: Building Your Social Media Platform

by Edie Melson

The prospect of building—or continuing to build—a viable online presence can seem daunting and wearying. With this series of 3 posts, DiAnn Mills and I will be sharing some secrets, shortcuts, and simplifying techniques to take the intimidation out of connecting with our audience.

Connecting With Our Audience

And that’s where we begin—and what we always return to. This is the reason we engage in social media, marketing and branding. Yes, this will lead to sharing about our books and blogs. That will ultimately lead to book sales. But, a successful platform is not built on a foundation of  advertising.

Basics of Relationship Building

·         We should be on Facebook

·         We should be on Twitter

·         We should be blogging somewhere

·         We must own our list

We’re on FB and Twitter because the majority of our audience is on these two networks combined. We can choose to insert another network in place of one of these, but that requires more effort to connect with the same amount of people. If we target a specific audience—such as YA—we may need to add Instagram or Snapchat into the mix.

We are blogging somewhere because that’s where we connect with our audience on a deeper level. 

Owning our list is marketing-speak for building an email list. Here’s why:

1.      Social media is in a constant state of flux. If we rely solely on that, a single change in the algorithm can take our reach from 60,000 to 600 in less than 24 hours.

2.      Having people who have chosen to add their names to my newsletter or blog sign ups means I can send them up-to-date information and know it will reach them.

What to Share on Social Media

I have several guidelines I follow when I share things on social media. First—unless it is launch week for a book—I stick with Edie’s 5 to 1 rule.

For every 5 social media updates I send out, I then allow myself to send out one about me.

An about me update:

·         An update about a book I’ve written

·         An update about a blog or article I’ve written

·         An update about an event I’m part of

Not an about me:

·         Sharing a favorite Scripture or quote

·         Sharing something that happened to me or touched me

I have built my considerable platform by promoting others ahead of myself. It may sound counterintuitive, but when we’re willing to do this we instill trust in our audience and receive respect from our industry counterparts.

We’re sharing the messages God has given each of us and must remember that there is plenty to go around. Scripture reminds us that the harvest is plentiful, it’s the workers who are few. (Edie’s paraphrase of Matthew 9:37)

Types of Updates

·         A Scripture or an inspiring quote

·         An intriguing question.

·         Something funny.

·         A link to something I find valuable.

I share these things in a variety of ways, through plain updates, through memes, and through video.

I recommend 4 to 5 updates a day, 3 to 4 days a week.  These updates should be a mix of things you post and things you share and/or retweet.

Bottom Line

We live in an age where social media is the way to connect with our audience. It’s a valuable tool, and we need to learn how to use it effectively without fear and with minimal frustration. We also have to guard against it taking over our lives.  

Be sure to leave your thoughts, suggestions and questions in the comments section below. None of us can know everything about social media and we’re all stronger together!

Blessings,

Edie

~~~~~ 

While My Child is Away by Edie Melson

WHILE MY CHILD IS AWAY

Parents and children are separated for many reasons: divorce, school, camp, even work. It might be for just a few days or indefinitely. These prayers give voice to all that you are hoping for your child when you can t be the one to meet their needs. Prayers of blessings, protection, instruction and grace. Or prayers for those around your child to choose wisely, see their needs, and love them as you would. Prayers for friends, teachers, coaches and mentors to step in and fill every need. Knowing that a loving Father God is caring for your child, even when you can t, gives you the peace and assurance that all will be well.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/While-My-Child-Away-Prayers/dp/1617957313/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/while-my-child-is-away-edie-melson/1123199238?ean=9781617957314

Christian Book Distributor: http://www.christianbook.com/while-child-away-prayers-when-apart/edie-melson/9781617957314/pd/957314?product_redirect=1&Ntt=957314&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP

~~~~~ 

Find your voice, live your story…is the foundation of Edie Melson’s message, no matter if she’s addressing parents, military families, readers of fiction, or writers. As an author, blogger, and speaker she’s encouraged and challenged audiences across the country and around the world. Her numerous books, including While My Child is Away and While My Soldier Serves, reflect her passion to help others develop the strength of their God-given gifts and apply them during these difficult times.

In addition, as a respected expert in social media, Edie has the proven expertise to teach others how to plug in and reach their target audience without the restraint of physical boundaries. In her role as social media coach she’s worked with clients that range from authors and speakers to business and ministry leaders. Her bestselling eBook on this subject, has been updated, expanded and re-released as Connections: Social Media & Networking Techniques for Writers.

As a respected blogger, her personal site, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s also a regular columnist on Guideposts.com, Just 18 Summers.com, and Putting on the New.com. She’s the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, the social media director for Southern Writers Magazine, the Senior Editor at Novel Rocket, and a long-time member of the Advance Speakers and Writers Association.

Edie and her husband of 35+ years have raised three sons. They live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina with their dog, Jake and cat, Emily Dickinson. You can connect with Edie through Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter 101 by Dora Hiers

Dora Hiers

Last month, I shared WhatHappened to All My Peoples?, and a friend suggested that I offer a brief introduction to Twitter. While I definitely don’t claim to be a Twitter expert, my experience might help someone find value in the social media site that I use most, even over Facebook and Pinterest. Twitter doesn't absorb much time and has the potential to be far reaching.

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Keep it short. Twitter embraces brevity with tweets limited to 140 characters or less. Less, if you'd like people to share your posts or retweet (RT). 

Sharing = happy Tweeters. To share, just click RT (the two arrows that form a square). You have the option of just RT'ing or adding your thoughts with Quote Tweet. Generally, if someone RT’s something of mine, I pay it forward and RT something of theirs versus replying with a" thanks.” A favorite (star) means someone likes your tweet or they're saving it to read later.

RT = Retweet

Star = Favorite

Make every character count. So that you're not wasting valuable real estate, you can shorten links by using tools like bitly or ow.ly. Programs like Hootsuite allow you to schedule your tweets, but the original tweet needs to be even shorter than 140 characters or you'll get an error message.

Include visuals. Just like with every other social media site, pictures play a big role here as well. 

Hashtags rule. Much like Instagram, hashtags are popular on Twitter. I joke around that I think in #hashtags. See? lol. A hashtag is just a conversation, topic or phrase such as #amwriting or #amediting. Google to find hashtags, check to see what’s trending, or jump right in with something fun and unique!

Be strategic for maximum return on investment. Include names/tags and hashtags. For example, for a workshop at a local library, I tagged the library system who then retweeted along with a reader’s group. That day 61k+ tweeters saw my name and profile. Not a bad return for the one minute it took to compose the tweet, right?

Follow = friends. Twitter users follow other tweeters, rather than friend them. Following someone doesn't obligate them to follow you back. Twitter also prompts you with suggestions of who to follow. You might want to click on a profile first and check their tweets. Do you want to follow someone who tweets the daily max of 2400? (I can’t even imagine!) Do you want to follow someone whose only interaction is through Facebook or whose tweets are all “buy my product?” 

Be aware of spammers. Potential spammers include eggheads (no profile picture) and tweets by someone with no followers. If you get a message like “somebody’s spreading nasty rumors about you,” don’t open the link.

Lists save time. As your Twitter account grows, lists are helpful to manage the people you follow, and lists can be public or private. Some ideas for lists might include friends, family, news, celebrities, etc. If you pull those special people into a list, you will always catch their updates.

Sound off. Did I miss a topic you’d like to see covered?

Did this post give you the courage to give Twitter a try?

Purchase Link

Deputy City Manager Burk Harmon has always been the strong one for his family, but recently those responsibilities have dwindled. When Lacie Heatherton, Assistant Director for Parks and Recreation, ropes him into a city-sponsored trip to the mountains with fifty seniors, Burk has two things on his mind: considering a possible promotion and wooing Lacie past friendship and into a future. Lacie has emotional scars and a thirteen-year-old daughter to remind her that men can be cruel and unforgiving. Can Burk convince Lacie to relax her "no dating" policy or will he surrender his dreams of family and love?

Dora Hiers is a multi-published author of Heart Racing, God-Gracing romances. She’s a member of RWA and her local chapter, Carolina Romance Writers. Connect with her on Seriously Write, Fiction Faith & Foodies, Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.

Build a Strong Platform by Protecting Your Audience By Edie Melson

As writers, we're expected to develop a platform for selling our books. Among other things, that means building a strong social media presence. Today, author Edie Melson gives her tips on protecting our audience--our readers. -- Sandy

Edie: Did you know it’s your job to protect your social media audience?

I’m not talking about guarding them physically and/or from harmful (and often questionable) content. I’m referring to the job you have of guarding their time.

Your loyal followers have given you a precious gift. They are investing their precious time in reading your blog, your Facebook updates and your tweets.

Do not take this gift lightly.

Just this week I’ve received eleven requests from friends to help them promote their work and/or ministry. As a writer I understand the requests. We all have to market our work. And the best place to start that process is with the people we know. The hard part comes when we have to tell our friends no.

But the truth is this, in these circumstances my first loyalty must always be to my audience.

They have given me their trust. I cannot, in good conscience, betray that trust by promoting every thing I’m exposed to. EVEN if those things are good ones.

So how do I evaluate what I share with my audience? First, by knowing who my audience is and their preferences.

I do this by:

·         Paying attention to the comments and analytics on my blog.

·         Watching my social media and seeing which updates are being shared and which ones create conversations. 

Once I know what my audience wants and expects I use three things as a filter for anything I promote:

1.     Will this information irritate my audience? In other words is it, to them, nothing more than a commercial to be ignored?

2.     Will my audience be interested in this thing/person/ministry I’m introducing them to? I don’t mind broadening my audience’s perspective, but it does have to have at least a small bit of relevance that I can highlight in my promotion.

3.     Will the lives of those who follow me be enriched by the information I’m sharing?

There are times when I share things that don’t pass all three of these filters. I share some personal things on social media, like when I signed with an agent or got a new book contract. I even pass on things that just tickle my funny bone.

The important thing is to make sure these are the EXCEPTIONS in your regular updates, never the rule.

Truthfully I can’t promote everything I’d like to because I’d end up driving away my audience. I always try to explain, and most of the time I’m met with understanding.

I truly don’t mind being asked to share information through my social media channels. Heck it’s a great way for me to be valuable with my audience. But I still have to know when to say no. It’s a ticklish line to walk, but it’s a boundary all of us need to establish if we want to keep the respect of those who follow us.

What do you do to protect those who follow you? What bothers you, as the audience, when it comes to social media posts from others? What have you learned from experience not to do?

~~~

Edie Melson is an author, freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the

Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. She’s the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy, the Social Media Director for Southern Writers Magazine, and the Senior Editor for http://www.NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.