Learning Social Media
I reached 100 followers in Twitter today. I did it organically. Slowly. Thoughtfully. I hand picked who I followed. That won’t last beyond this point, but it was important to me who I was connecting with as a writer. As a behavioral science researcher, I wanted to understand how those social media connections are made early on.
I’ve found followers in webinar instructors and co-attendees. I’m following fellow members from Twitter writing groups, and they are following me back. I’ve engaged with artists, book lovers, authors, and moms, resulting in likes and follows.
Joining Twitter has been far more fun and educational than I expected. Especially since I initially approached it like a chore. In fact, my very first tweet was essentially about learning how to tweet:
One thing that I’ve learned about social media is that collecting followers, getting likes, and being retweeted, does not translate into website or blogging views.
That’s okay. I am writing my WIPs diligently. I have two series in the works, three books in each. Part of this learning process has been learning that you don’t want to pitch, or publish the first in a series, before you are done with all three. So it’s going to be a while before any of these get published. In the meantime, I’m building my brand. This is turning out to be an invaluable experience.
We are supposed to keep a website and blog. This was an enormous source of stress for me. In addition to writing, I have a whole parenting life that consumes my every waking moment. I also have a research and non-fiction writing life that predates my immersion in fiction. What was I supposed to blog about? Not parenting. Nothing informational about writing. Nothing scholarly. Not my life.
“The natural answer was to blog about my journey and what I learn in the lengthy process of writing these novels.”
The fact that likes on Twitter or Instagram don’t translate to page views is probably a good thing right right now because it’s early in the process. I am still developing my voice, and I am still working on my product.
In the meantime, here is my process. With references, insights, and problem solving strategies. You’ll also find fears, stupid questions, and bare naivete.
Thank you to my first 100 followers. My initial introduction to the writing community of the Twittersphere has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. I am grateful to be in such great company.