Okay, I keep hearing that for social media to work, we must engage our platform. I’m having some trouble doing this and am looking for some tips. The social media sites do not offer tips. They simply say do it. My guess is there are people out there who can guide the rest of us. Yes, I want to communicate with my platform.
And no, I don’t want to simply toot my own horn. So, how do I go about doing that?
Here are some of the ways I’ve tried:
These are posts related to writing with lots of ideas about how to successfully get your ideas on paper. I tweet these posts and acknowledge the blogger with a @ symbol. Often the blogger will favorite the tweet and retweet it. But the blogger never engages with me, never asks me questions, never wonders why I posted their particular blog.
At least that’s what the social media gurus tell us. I use the hashtag #amwriting #writingtips #amreading. My hope is that some of these hashtag followers will respond. The one that produced the best engagement was #YouKnowYouAreAWriterWhen. A few tweeters actually commented on some of these tweets. The others do not seem to generate any comments.
These are questions related to reading and writing. For example I asked the question, Do you have to like the characters to keep reading? I got no responses. Recently I asked the question, What kinds of tweets do you hate? I got no answers.
So, I’d love to hear what you are doing to engage your followers. Naturally I want more followers. But, I’m more interested in engaging the group I have.
Signed: A Frustrated Tweeter
I wish I had an answer to your engagement questions regarding social media. As a debut author I really don’t have enough experience in this area. I don’t have a blog so I’m afraid I can’t shed light on blogging either. Personally, I’m limited by time when it comes to engaging on social media (including blogs). I do love Twitter because of its brevity. I will “quote tweet” as much as I can to engage with another but in a pinch I’ll simply retweet. Working full time and writing full time limits my ability to engage more with bloggers I enjoy- like you! Sadly, I might read a post but not always comment ? perhaps for others it’s a time issue too? Wishing you continued success, I’m looking forward to your next Jenna Scali mystery!
Thx MJ for taking the time to comment. I’m afraid so many of us are busy and we don’t necessarily comment. It’s a constant struggle to reach an audience we never hear from. My guess is people limit the blogs they read and comment there. I hope my blog gets on some of those reading lists 🙂 Meantime, I keep trying!
This would be a good candidate for tagging a couple people in the tweet. Look at your volume- do you tweet your question just once or maybe a dozen times? Tagging has been a great way for me to have conversations with friends because they are more likely to see the tweet.