Austin SCBWI Social Media Presentation June 2011

NICHOLAS ALTER

...AND I AM NOT A SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT

Saturday, June 11, 2011

IF SOMEONE DOES CALL THEMSELVES AN EXPERT, THEN DO TWO THINGS

&


SOCIAL MEDIA PROFESSIONAL

Which means I’m payed to get to know Social Media and I help guide businesses to grow their presence online.


ALTERENDEAVORS.COM

MY COMPANY


SOCIAL MEDIAIt’s not a magic wand


NO SOCIAL MEDIA?

In a way it’s kinda like marriage. If you aren’t in it to win it, then don’t do it.


...AND DON’T TRY TO DO EVERYTHING


SET YOUR GOALSWhat do you hope to accomplish?Make them realistic.Set a timelineEvaluate and adjust regularlyYou cannot force it. If it’s not happening, do not

get discouraged.Who are you targeting?Don’t try to do them alone.


WHAT SHOULD YOU BE?Be interested Be interestingBe confidentBe boldBe niceBe flexibleBe thoughtfulBe funnyBe creativeBe patientBe carefulBe REAL


START WITH THE BASICS


WHAT ABOUT A BLOG?Authors/illustrators should have oneStart with the basic setup Wordpress.com It does not have to cost a dime, but creating a more professional presence is not difficult and inexpensive if done correctly. Plan ahead

Choose what you are going to write about in advanceRemember your online audience, so develop your voice

accordinglyDevelop a theme for your blog and stick with it.Embed images and videos

Be aware of copyrights and give credit with a link back to where the image originally comes fromKeywords: What do you want people to be searching for when they find you?


WHAT ELSE ABOUT A BLOG?Star with one post a week

Don’t over-commit, because that will be what people will start to expect. There are no rules about length, but...

Try not to go overboard. Most blog posts tend to be anywhere from 150 - 600 words. If you get into the 700+ word range, consider splitting the post into two piecesHave links to any other social media platform you use actively

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, etc. Find other bloggers who relate to you and follow them (RSS)

Comment on their walls, but do not SPAM


RSSReal Simple Syndication...it’s for blogs

Use it to follow other bloggers Look up Google Reader as an aggregate tool for other blogs Get an RSS reader on your mobile device I like FeedlerRSS for the iPhone and iPad Android users should look at Pulse News Reader, FeedSquares & gReader iPad users should look at getting FlipBook


FACEBOOKPublic Versus Personal

Create a complete profile in both cases Consider what you can maintain, what you cannot You have to have a personal account in order to have a public page

Personal = Friends & Some Personal Stuff 5,000 friend cap This is the real you, not the public you, but still be aware of what you are posting Don’t try to sell yourself on your personal account, that is not what this is about This is your space to share with friends, some who don’t know you as well as othersThere is no such thing as true privacy, so do pay attention to what you post here.


FACEBOOK...OF COURSE THERE IS MOREPublic = Facebook Page

This is the space you want to create if you are looking to gain an audience and offer something of value (Entertainment is a value by the way) Have to maintain daily Should be all about you as an author/illustrator, your books, your expertise, your public persona Can advertise and track No cap on followers Published authors should especially consider having a Facebook Page This is where the “Like” button comes into play Vanity URL after 25 Likes Look at http://facebook.com/neilgaiman as an example More flexible and can be manipulated to brand oneself better No Spamming


http://facebook.com/neilgaiman

http://facebook.com/neilgaiman

FACEBOOK...AND MOREHow to Promote Yourself on Facebook

Comment on other people’s walls Tag people in photos @ mention them in posts Add links to your email signature Add to your blog and website Have a link back to it from your tweets if you use Twitter (do regularly, but sparingly) Facebook Advertising (If you have a public page)


TWITTER The most powerful discovery tool in social media

...Use it wisely Understand the lingo:The “@” symbol: Used to “mention” other Twitter profiles in a public way. Place it in front of a Twitter handle you want to mention (ex: @abiferrin) so as to tag that profile in a tweet. A tweet with @(a profile) will show up on that persons Twitter wall and also land in their “mentions” stream so they are aware of everyone who has pinged them.The “#” symbol: The hashtag or “#” symbol is used to easily track certain elements of a conversation across the Twittersphere. Use #fashion in a tweet for example and it will become a clickable entity on a twitter platform. When clicked, a list of all tweets using that # will appear, allowing you to easily discover other Twitter users focused on that topic as well.Lists - Create lists to categorize people you follow. Lists show only the tweets from the people in the list. This is valuable when you are looking for tweets from specific interest groupsDM - Direct Messaging is only allowable when someone follows you or visa-versaRT - Retweets are tweets others have posted that you repost


TWITTER Get Organized

Make Lists Know your hashtags

Tweet well, meaning don’t just... Don’t just RT what other people have to say Don’t just talk about what you are doing at the moment Note: Actually if you are talking about what you are doing at the moment, make it valuable Example that everyone uses is the sandwich. Don’t just say “eating a sandwich”, say “Eating a cuban panini of heaven @thegrove in Bee Caves. Good lord it’s so good. #austinfood” Don’t just link back to your Facebook page or your blog Don’t just talk about yourself, as a matter of fact, limit this Don’t just talk about one other person or profile

Keep it under control Post 1- 3 unique tweets RT a couple of time Keep hashtags to 2-3 per post - too much of anything, well, you know.


AUSTIN SCBWIThe power of this community


AUSTIN SCBWIFollow Austin SCBWI on Facebook and TwitterTake the conversation y’all are having about children’s and YA

literature onto these public spaces, where it can be shared, commented upon and followed.

Invite librarians, schools, parents, kids to follow this space because a larger community can then get involved and multiple sources are creating valuable content that folks will keep coming back to.

Also, it is easier to build up a personal following for your SM presence when you are fully engaged with a larger, better established community like SCBWI in Austin.


Documents

Austin SCBWI Social Media Presentation June 2011