This past summer was my 30th high school reunion. For the 20th, they sent out emails and tried to contact everyone. This year, there were no emails, only a Facebook page. Which I never saw. Thus I didn’t find out about it until a week after it happened.
My husband’s classmates also set up a Facebook page. He’s not on Facebook, but the day the announcement went up, he got three emails about the reunion. Plus they have a committee trying to track down people by any means possible. Needless to say, we will be able to attend Craig’s reunion.
The point is that while we all have our favorite form of social media, it shouldn’t be our only form. Twenty social sites is too much, but we have to remember that not everyone is on Facebook. Or Twitter. (Or a blogger!) And an email database is so valuable, especially to an author.
Don’t limit your audience - spread your message far and wide.
Thanks to Freeda Baker-Nichols for tagging me in the Not-So-Accidental Blog Tourist Hop started by Crystal Collier.
(And I got to meet her at a conference in Arkansas 9 years ago!)
1.What am I currently working on? A paranormal romance collection called Four in Darkness.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? I wanted to show creatures who deserved sympathy rather than fear & hatred, plus one is a bit unusual.
3. Why do I write/create what I do? I began writing my YA/NA series to inspire others to follow their dreams. What I’m writing now is purely for enjoyment, and it’s kinda fun.
4. How does your writing/creating process work? I work on character profiles first, then a basic outline, then I dive right in with pen and paper. I think better when writing by hand, but I can move to someplace other than my desk. (I sit there enough!)
Every author I contacted had either participated already or declined, so I’ve no one to tag. If you’d like to run with this, please let me know.
45 comments:
You're right. Facebook shouldn't be only social media for everyone. One has to try reaching larger audience through multi-social media presence.
Yeah, It's important to use multiple forms of media. I like the Not So Accidental Bloghop, nice to meet a new author. I hope she has a lot of success with her books.
You are spot on about using more than one avenue of social media. I find balance between a few works really well.
*waves at Freeda from Maine! Always love to hear when another writer actually knows my state exists. LOL
So agree with you on not relying on one social media way to let people know about something. Most people have lots of Facebook friends and it's easy for a message to get lost.
More than one form of social media should always be used when trying to get out important information such as a reunion or book release. Sad that your class reunion group didn't do that.
What a shame you missed your class reunion! That said, it provide you/us with a great object lesson. Thanks.
Good advice! I'm a work in progress when it comes to social media, so I needed this reminder. :)
Fun blog hop! Nice to learn more about you. Have a great week!
SA, I know it exists, because it's my in-laws' favorite place to visit every summer.
I think more and more people are moving away from Facebook just because it seems to be the "defacto" method for everything. I use Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger. I recently started a Ferret board on Pinterest. :)
I totally agree about not limiting your audience. Your current project sounds like fun!
Wise advice. I'd be totally screwed as I'm not on Facebook.
I haven't made the FB plunge yet either - although I'm considering it :)
You make a good point about not putting all your eggs in one basket, announcements on one media site. :-)
Not everyone you want to reach is necessarily on your favorite site.
I'm on a few media sites but not particularly active on a daily basis on places like Twitter--I just never got the knack or perhaps the desire to devote time to it.
Enjoyed your interview with Freeda. A thought that resonated with me is writing by hand. I used to do much of my writing that way. Like Freeda, I spend WAY too much time at my desk as it is and the idea of sitting there yet another couple of hours? Not at all attractive. I need to get out my handy-dandy notebook and pen again.
Sia McKye Over Coffee
I use three forms of social media, which is pretty much my limit. Agreed that a emailing list is effective as well. I believe my HS used FB for a reunion also, not that they'd miss me. :)
Great point about being on more than one. And I still like to contact people by email for important stuff.
Great reminder that several social forums are better than one. I think some may be more Effective than others... but in order to reach the most people we need to utilize at least two or three. There is a point when promotion can take over and you pass the critical mass point of "helpfulness."
Excited that you're working on something new and different!
I try to spread my social media stuff out a bit..especially if one platform goes under. Some FB, some Twitter, some Google +...
Sorry you missed the reunion because of Facebook. I don't get there every day and only see it at certain times. I agree that you need more than one social media, but not a zillion!
Mary Montague Sikes
You are so right about FB. I should be able to see every post from a friend or page I follow - and yet FB keeps them from me. How does that work with connecting exactly?
That's a great point. For my reunion, the discussion started on Facebook, but then extended out to other forms for those not on FB. Email is super important.
I agree with you on the social networks. I have facebook but don't rely on it to spread news, because I know many people who wouldn't touch it if their lives depended on it. Too many places can take up precious time, but more than one is almost essential if you're trying to reach a variety of people.
I like your title.
I miss so many things on Facebook. It's better if I read about things other places too.
Booo, not fair that you missed your reunion! And I totally agree - people need to at least have a few forms of communication.
I have my blog (which is my favourite) and Facebook & Twitter (which I don't use often enough). I've noticed that G+ is also a busy platform.
I also like writing long hand...
FB seems to be the most "popular" and also the most irritating forms of social media. It's palatable, but to think everyone gets it isn't the best plan.
And what's that???? You're writing just for enjoyment and fun? How does that happen? (Good for you!)
Really excellent advice, Diane, especially considering the way FB is going with limiting the views on one's timeline. It is pushing paid views or ads, and the old way is disappearing. You absolutely can't count on people seeing things posted on your timeline anymore.
Hi Diane .. I can't get my head into FB - though this time suspect I'll be heading that way. I really don't like it though ... for some reason I think Twitter might be fun ... but for now I blog and probably miss out on contacts of all sorts!
Cheers and good luck to Freeda ... Hilary
Important lesson there, Diane. We should try and use the means which will be most likely to get responses and reach more people.
Having fun while we're crafting and writing our stories is important.
Diane, I have to go look at your ferrets!
Mary, I admit I forget about Facebook sometimes.
Dean - LOL!
I gave up FaceBook some months ago,there always seemed to be alot of needless gossip so decided to call it a day.
Great informative post.
Yvonne.
So many of my friends aren't on fb that I know many readers aren't either, so I agree about trying to reach people through different social media being very important.
Sorry you missed your reunion.
You're right, facebook shouldn't be the only social media, but it appears to be the most popular, seen by most. My daughter's organic cafe has been such a hit due to facebook-with the good food to back up the desire to visit and revisit.
I miss everything on FB too. Social media is not where I spend my time. although, I sure like seeing posts from my family when they update in my e-mail.
Hobby writer here, and not really for a long time. Someday I'll get back into writing.
Yes, facebook might be the most popular social media forum, but not everyone's on facebook. Even if someone has a facebook account, this does not mean they are active.
I'm glad you're writing for the pure fun of it, Diane. Keep enjoying.
Diane, so sorry you missed your high school reunion. I've never attended any of mine. I never heard anything about the 25th or 30th, so I don't know if they had them, lost my contact info to let me know about them, or used one form of social media to try and contact everyone.
Such a good point. It also sounds exhausting! LOL How do we keep up with everything.
I'm happy to hear your writing is for enjoyment - though there will probably be some meaning in it anyway. :)
I've been on both sides of the facebook invite - both foolishly inviting mostly that way (I still made a few phone calls and sent an e-mail), and being invited that way. It's tempting to get sucked into one type of social media, but it isn't a good idea because not everyone is on every site.
As a mom with teenagers, I also know how quickly people/teens can hop from one social media site to another - from facebook to instagram to kicker to pinterest, with most of their friends hopping with them and then back through the loop in an endless cycle of "what's new?"
Oh, and they (the teen crowd) seem to appreciate authenticity and every day posts, but not "sales" posts. That doesn't really surprise me but it's something to think about for authors (and musicians, and).
I would love to participate, but I've been struggling to find time to blog and comment so I'm going to have to pass on this one.
Definitely. People don't pay attention unless you tap them on the shoulder directly, especially if you need something from them.
Hope your paranormal is coming along well.
This is one of the reasons why I'm still on FB; most people use it alone. You;re right. Bad idea. Sorry you missed your reunion. Thanks for showcasing Freeda.
I relate to your process. I really like starting with the character.
I do get quite a bit of news from facebook, and I do party invites through there as well, but I also see the people in person, and I'll do a Google+ invite too. The invite is mostly for the calendar reminder. :)
I keep meaning to start an email newsletter. I know I need it. I know the blog and facebook aren't nearly reliable enough. I miss all kinds of things on Facebook every day.
Social media is a necessary evil, a time-suck from our writing -- but where would we be without it? Writing purely for enjoyment is the way to go. We're our first audience, right?
Oh, man--that sucks to have been left out of the reunion until too late! I had my 30th this summer, too, and organizing started on FB, but at a point about 6 weeks out, I volunteers to try to find people--I sent emails to the list we had from the 25th, and any that bounced back, I tried to track down through other means. I only managed about 2/3 of us, but the email list had only been about 40%, so I made progress. I will take it on again next time, but start a lot earlier so I can take advantage of LinkedIn and friends and relatives (with more depth than I used this time) to find people.
Glad to see you writing some fiction! It IS fun, eh?
Love the idea for the not so accidental blog tourist :)
Yes, it is is very important to have more than one form of social media & to not rely on only one as your means of communication. Facebook was probably my first social media source, but my least used now. I tend to follow my kiddos on whatever site they are currently using (have to monitor them).
I hate that you missed your reunion, but I swear I did a double take when I read that it was your 30th. NO WAY, do you look even remotely old enough to be attending your 30th HS reunion. I want in on your beauty secrets.
I'm not familiar with the Not So Accidental Blog Tourist Hop, but enjoyed reading your answers and learning a little bit about Freeda Baker -Nichols.
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