Navigating the Galaxy of Social Networks

By Kathy Kulig

Every time you turn around there’s another social network popping up in Cyberspace. How do you navigate through the galaxy of online social space? Myspace, Facebook, Plaxo Pulse, Goodreads, Linked In, and do I really need to Twitter? How can you use these sites to promote and market yourself?

To Get Started: Even if you belong to one or two of these social networks, here’s a timesaving tip before you join any new ones: Create a folder on your computer titled: “Profile for Social Networks”, or something compatible. Then open a separate Word document file for each of the following:

• About Me or General – This is your bio. Have a good one. What makes you interesting? Include publishing credits, organizations you belong to, big contest wins, etc. and update it from time to time.
• Interests or Activities – What do you like to do in your spare time besides writing, publishing and reading?
• Movies
• Television shows
• Books
• Groups – RWA, specialty chapters, online groups, etc.
• Music
• Who I’d Like to Meet – Could be living or dead. Can list one or many to show your personality.
• Heroes 

If you don’t want to include a topic in your profile there are instructions on how to disable that particular link at each network. Update your Profile with current information. Edit the file on your computer, then just cut and paste into each of your social networks so you don’t have to retype.

You’ll also need a headshot. People like to connect a name with a face. You’ll be recognized at conferences easier too. If you really can’t stand the idea of posting your photo, then use your latest bookcover.

Join the Networks. Here is a list of the most popular social networks. But there are more out there.

• Myspace – www.myspace.com - By Wikipedia’s definition: “Myspace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos for teenagers and adults internationally.”
• Facebook – www.facebook.com - Is similar to Myspace, but you can’t view member’s profiles unless you’re “friends” with them.
• Plaxo Pulse – www.plaxo.com - Another social network that’s more business oriented.
• Linked In – www.linkedin.com - A business oriented network. It’s like an online resume or a database for professionals in your field.
• Goodreads – www.goodreads.com - A social network where people can list books they’ve read or are reading, discuss books and post reviews. Authors can list their published books within their profile.
• Twitter – www.twitter.com - Twitter is quite different and I’ll go into more detail on this one. Twitter is a free micro-blogging service where people can connect to each other through short posts (called Tweets). Originally it was designed as a one-way communication device but it now has grown into one of the largest social networking site. It also works like a chatroom since you can chat and reply instantly. Posts must be 140 characters or less. You set up your account and profile then connect with other ‘tweeple’ or ‘tweeps’ by following them, or clicking on their link. You cannot request friends like you can in the other social networks. People have to choose to follow you. All the posts (Tweets) from those you are following will be listed on your home page. Simply answer the question: “What are you doing?” And you’re on your way.

So how do people find you on Twitter so that they can start following you? A couple ways. First, you start following people and many will follow you back. Second, when you follow someone, you appear in their “followers” list. Anybody can click on that list to see who’s following that person and begin following you too. A third way is through a keyword search. If you have a good profile bio, your site will come up when people search certain keywords-like Romance Writer, Erotica, Romantic Suspense, etc. Another way is by viewing your Tweets on other people’s sites.

Twitter Tools: There are a number of helpful Tools, Widgets and Applications you can use. Click on GOODIES at the bottom of your Home page to find these. Tweetdeck is a application to organize your tweets. And there are applications so you can Twitter from your phone. There’s a Yellow Pages for Twitter: If you're trying to find something or someone on Twitter, you can try out the search engine dedicated to all things Twitter. Twellow: http://www.twellow.com.

Or if you're wondering who's Twittering about you, check out, TweetBeep: http://tweetbeep.com. It’s a service that will alert you anytime your name, book title, product, or company is mentioned or Tweeted about!

Who’s on Twitter? Writers, booksellers, publishers, agents. There are many more than that but those are who I follow. Go to my Twitter site and see who’s following me. http://twitter.com/kathykulig How do you network on Twitter? Post Tweets and leave your website address or link to your blog. Remember only 140 characters max. If your URL address is too long use the Tinyurl creator. Go to www.tinyurl.com and paste in your long URL address and it’ll give you a condensed one. Twitter also does this automatically for you by clicking on the Tweet Shrink button on the top right.

How to Use the Networks for Marketing and Promotion

• Be social and communicate and you’ll gain name recognition. When people learn about you, they’ll want to check out your books.
• Add direct links of all your social networks on your websites. Tell as many people you know to link/connect/friend you and give them the URL.
• Post messages or comments but don’t make them too self-serving. All about you, all the time turns people off. Be polite, professional and courteous. What’s posted in Cyberspace stays in Cyberspace for EVERYONE to read forever. So think twice before posting. Respond to a post without saying anything about you, your books, etc. But, leave a short signature line with your name, your latest book or upcoming book and your website address. Saying yes, I read her book and I loved it. Or, I really enjoyed your blog post today, especially the part about... Remember it’s not always about you.
• When requesting or accepting new friends try following up with a brief personal note. Say I read your article, saw your great review, like (something specific) about your site, etc. Warning: Don’t post too many messages or accept too many friends at one time, at least on Facebook, or you’ll be flagged as Spamming and Facebook will freeze your account. If they do, it’s only temporary for a few hours or a day. Read their rules on Spamming so you don’t have your account permanently shut down. That’s rare unless you abuse the site and ignore the warnings.
• Post a message about your latest book, a contest, your latest blog post and provide a link. Post photos, video links, book trailers, news of events and appearances, etc.
• Make thoughtful comments on blogs and forums and include your URL. Writing sites, movie sites, author sites, and book review sites.
• ReTweet (RT) and Reply to interesting posts on Twitter.  

There are tons of social networks. It’s up to you to decide how many and which ones to join and maintain. It’s best to stick with the major ones and those whose members might be interested in buying your book. Some others include: Bebo(younger crowd), Eons (older), Book Place, Shelfari, Wiki, Yahoo 360, MSN, Library Thing and Squido.

Balancing your writing time with your online networking time is important too. I limit myself to half hour slots a couple times a week to accept new friends, request friends, post and read comments, and to make updates and edits. The online social networks can help connect to readers and other publishing professionals and for marketing and self promotion if you use them properly and follow certain etiquette. It’s also a valuable tool for gaining some name recognition.

©2009Kathy Kulig www.kathykulig.com

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