What Does the Bookworm Say?: Social Media
Hi and welcome to What Does the Bookworm Say?, a feature where I discuss bookish topics with my friends at The Reader’s Antidote, Books Unbound and The Windy Pages. Each week, we will discuss a new bookish topic. This week’s topic is social media. What are your thoughts on social media? Do you need it/like it etc?
As a blogger, I consider my blog a type of social media. I use it to connect with other people who have similar interests as me. However, I don’t want to just blog into the ether. I want to make sure that my blog reaches as many people as it can and I try to get those people to come back to my blog. Let’s face it, while I do blog because I enjoy it, I also want people to read it, otherwise I am just writing into the ether. But getting people to come to your blog isn’t easy (at least not for me) and I definitely use social media to get the word out and give my blog a little more exposure. I don’t want to say that you “need” social media but I do think that you need to make some kind of an effort to get your blog’s content out there besides just publishing the blog itself. Does this mean that you need to be on every social media platform there is, posting every day? No, not at all. Personally I find that it’s best to focus on the social media platforms that you are most comfortable with and enjoy using. There are also ways to post to various social media sites without having to go into each of them and posting. I don’t do this a whole lot (except for blog posts) since I don’t like having duplicate content. lf I post something on Twitter, it’s usually just on Twitter, etc. So if you follow me on more than one platform, chances are you’ll be getting different content from each platform. That’s just me though. I know that a lot of people will post once to Twitter which will also end up posting to their Facebook and other platforms. Like I said, I think it’s all a matter of personal preference. You could go crazy trying to post on every media platform, but it’s really OK not to. I’ll talk a little bit about what social media platforms I use below.
Facebook – Ah, Facebook. I think a lot of people are frustrated with the way that Facebook structures how Pages can be used. It leans heavily on trying to get people to “boost” their posts by paying a small fee. This can be annoying because, as a website owner, it just seems logical that if people follow your page then they should get the updates. An example of this is – I have about 800 followers and Facebook but, when I post, it usually says that I reach anywhere from 10 – 20 people. That’s a pretty lame percentage. I don’t even know if that’s really accurate or if the numbers are skewed to make post boosting more attractive. Unfortunately Facebook is still a huge powerhouse when it comes to social media (though that might be changing) and I find that it is helpful to have an updated Facebook page for the blog. I follow a lot of authors and publishers on Facebook and I like that I can repost/share their posts via my Facebook page. I also like to post random updates on Facebook about what I am reading or watching to try to get some interaction with people. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. So, while Facebook can be frustrating, I do find it useful and it’s an OK way to interact with readers.
Twitter – I used to be on Twitter a lot more but less so lately. I just find that the feeds go by too fast and I miss a lot of info. However, I still find Twitter really useful in blogging. I generally tweet links to my blog posts when they go up and retweet them again a few weeks later. I find that Twitter is a good way to get publishers and authors to check out posts. I don’t tweet them review posts but I do tweet them Manicure Mondays, event recaps and author interviews. I find that authors and publishers are pretty responsive on Twitter and will take advantage of that on certain posts. Twitter is also good for promoting giveaways on the blog. I always have tweeting about the giveaway as an optional entry and think it’s pretty good at getting the word out about giveaway. I also use Twitter as a way to promote my favorite authors and blogs. If they have interesting news or posts, I like to retweet them to my followers and help spread the love. I post a lot of Kindle deals on Twitter, too. In conclusion, Twitter can be a little info overload at times but I think it’s a good tool for interacting with authors and pubs as well as finding bookish news.
Goodreads – Goodreads was probably my first foray into the world of bookish social media. Even though there has been GR drama over the years, it’s still my favorite place for book reviews. I rely on it heavily when scoping out a new book or author. I read both negative and positive reviews to help me figure out if it’s something I want to read. I also use it when I want to follow a new blog. I usually check out their Goodreads page to see if we have similar tastes in books. I don’t use the message boards or author pages very much but they’re another good way to keep up with your favorite authors and to interact with other readers.
Instagram – Instagram is, pants down, my favorite social media platform right now. I’ve always been a visual person and love photography, so it’s really the perfect platform for me. I’d much rather see a photo than read 140 characters. And even though I follow a few hundred people on Instagram, it’s not overwhelming. People aren’t posting an image every few minutes so my feed, while full, is manageable. I never feel like I can’t keep up or am missing things, like I often do with Twitter. I don’t really promote the blog specifically on it (i.e. blog posts) but will post pics when I buy books or go to bookish events. I’ve met some really cool people (bloggers and non-bloggers) on IG and think it’s going to be my favorite for a while. I prefer to follow accounts that have a nice range of pics and are not all just one thing, though cute animal pictures are always welcome.
tumblr/Klout/Google+/Youtube/Pinterest – I don’t use any of these very much though I do have a Klout and Google+ accounts that I never use. Youtube I use just for watching video now and then. And I just cannot get the hang of tumblr. Too many animated gifs make me dizzy and tumblr seems to have an abundance of them. I know a lot of authors use tumblr but I just can’t get into it. I use Pinterest for personal use mostly though I do post my Manicure Mondays on an album over there so that they are easily pin-able and searchable.
Wow this post ended up way longer thant I thought it was going to be. Short story is, do you need to be on social media to succeed? No, but it definitely helps get your blog’s name out there and can be a fun way to interact with readers and other bookish peeps. I say choose a few platforms you like and concentrate on those instead of trying to be on everything.
Hope you guys found this a little interesting. Let me know what you think of social media and what you favorite platforms are in the comments below.
Don’t forget to check out what The Reader’s Antidote, Books Unbound and The Windy Pages have to say about this topic as well. If you have a topic you’d like us to cover, just leave it in the comments below.
