Cat's Corner

9 Tips to Help You build Your Online Community

5/2/2019

The thought of starting an online presence kept me up at night when I began my indie writing career in 2013. I knew social media was a brilliant platform for connecting people and discovering books. But where to start? And what if I embarrassed myself by saying something stupid in cyberspace? Plus, who’d want to hear from newbie me anyway?

I see you scratching your head just as I did. You’re wondering how creatives can build professional relationships in cyberspace with someone you’d never bump into at the corner Starbuck’s.

You can do it! (Yes, even you introverts looking skeptical and scared.)

You start by being RARE as you demonstrate–
R         respect
A         authenticity
R         reciprocity
E          expertise

If you’re an author, blogger, or small business owner, read on to discover 9 tips to help you build your RARE social media presence.

9 Tips to Help You Build Your Online Community ~ catmichaelswriter.com

1. Start Slow to Go Fast

Be clear about your social media goals.
Everybody wants to find followers and be discovered. Do you also want support from others in your field. Advice on specialized topics like launching books or running google ads? Connections to niche groups, like how to care for your pet iguana?

Explore and research.
Start with keyword searches to identify groups in your niche, such as most successful romance writers, best websites for writers, or most popular children's books. Most will have social media links you can dig into.

Discover where your readers spend their time on social media by googling stats and demographics for different social media platforms. For instance:

Pinterest: half of all US millennials use Pinterest at least once monthly - the platform's most popular category in the US is art/art supplies/hobbies, followed by food and decorating (Sprout Social). If your niche crafting and hobbies, or a novel featuring a 30-something female chef, Pinterest should be on your radar.

Goodreads: a brilliant site to boost a writer's book discoverability - Goodreads hosts 80 million avid readers. You’ll want to set up an author account and join the conversation about books. Plus, I just love being on there as a citizen reader.

Twitter: a micro-blog with breezy messages of 280 characters or less - Tweets are sent at a rate of about 350,000 per minute. You’ll meet tweeps who blog about books, are wild about book giveaways, and more. I find Twitter can be troll-heavy and divisive, but it’s the favorite platform of many writerly colleagues.

Instagram: a millennial hangout, where visual content uploaded on mobile devices with multiple hashtags reign. Search for popular hashtags by niche, like #bookworm for readers or #writersofinstagram for authors to find communities to follow.

Facebook: the tyrannosaurus rex of social media

* 150 billion Facebook stories viewed daily
* users by gender: 53% female and 47% male
72% of the 62% of online seniors are between ages of 50 and 64
* 88% of online users aged 18-29 are on Facebook Source
* 85% of Facebook's daily active users come from outside North America
* (source: omnicoreagency.com -2018 September)

My author page on Facebook is my go-to platform because it’s where purchasers of my children’s books spend time.

Facebook has hundreds of genre and sub-genre interest communities. Some are open groups, and others are closed, so commenting stays safe within the group. You must ask to join closed groups, but it shouldn’t be an issue if your interests match theirs. Start by being friendly and commenting. Nuke the self-promotions.

Is your head exploding? Mine was when I started! tbh, there are still days when it feels crazy.

via GIPHY

Listen close to your Aunt Cat now....

To keep from being overwhelmed,
begin with a ...

single – one – uno – ein

platform where your customers hang out.

Start with friendly convo and comments of interest to the group.
Leave the marketing behind.
Let people get to know you as a 'person' first.

2. Go Pro

Yep. Delineate your personal and professional life.
Once you decide on that single platform your readers love, it’s time to set up a separate account to share information about your business (yes, writing IS a business!) to differentiate from family life. Aunt Sue will appreciate her vacation pictures staying private, and you can still boast about your silly pet tricks to Cousin Ed without confusing your authorly personae.

3. Honor Ground Rules

Once you identify groups to observe, look for guidelines in the 'about' section that summarize the group’s purpose and rules. Some sites are devoted to sharing interests and don’t take kindly to authors promoting books. Other communities encourage marketing discussions.
Spend time on places that resonate with you and observe how people interact. Is it a good fit for you?
Begin to follow people and pages that offer dynamic interaction and frequently post fresh content in your interest/book niche with a positive spirit.

4. "ENGAGE!"–Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Clapping for you here! You researched and zeroed in on people and places. Time to engage.

via GIPHY

With your newly opened professional account, test the waters by liking, sharing or favoring posts.
Ask a thoughtful question or comment on a topic you’re comfortable with. I was so nervous writing my first posts! Spent 10 minutes just drafting them. Promise: it gets easier. Now I whip ‘em out using native or free tools (like Buffer and Hootsuite) to schedule posts in advance.
You're building brand YOU, so your actions should reflect a genuine interest that shows who you are as a person and a professional. I confine engagements as a children’s book author to family-friendly content.

5. Thou Shalt Not Spam

Who are you as an author/illustrator, a mommy blogger, a dog groomer and citizen of this planet? Readers want to know! I love sharing my interests but make them relatable to my readers and my writerly life as plain ole me.

When Stephen King (who has more than 4M Facebook followers!) posts a cute photo of his pooch, Molly, aka the Thing of Evil, and posits she can unleash a battalion of zombie Irish Wolfhounds on Vermont, he gets 54K likes. So, he shares an amusing tidbit about his personal life and ties it to his genre. Pure genius!

Rule of Thirds: Carla King, Author of Self-Publishing Books: A Guide for Authors, proposes a social media Rule of Thirds that’s good for any business practice. King suggests dividing posts equally among promoting/selling, supporting like-minded authors or businesses, and revealing yourself as a person and author:

33% PROMOTE
Okay, I promote more when I launch books or have special events. But otherwise, I contain my marketing.

33% SUPPORT
Actively seek out and support others. It’s pure delight to see their reaction! (More about supporting others coming next on #6 )

33% INSIGHTS:
Who are you as an author, entrepreneur, business owner and citizen of this planet? People want to know!

6. Offer Value, Thanks and Credit
Don’t shake your head wondering, What can I offer? Yes, there are a gazillion people in cyberspace, but no one is YOU.

via GIPHY

What’s your unique expertise and interest? Whether it’s grammar, baking, photography or sports, use those talents to demonstrate how you'll add to the conversation.
Share ideas from wise people in your field and be sure to attribute those ideas. That’s easy to do on Facebook and Twitter: adding @ in front of someone’s name automatically tags them. I discovered early on that the more I share, the more others engage and friendships start. How cool is that!
When people interact with you in positive ways, they’re reaching out, trying to make a connection. Show interest by responding as soon as possible. Personalize your reply by using the individual's name.

As you gain followers (and you will!) routinely thank them. People are always happy to hear they are appreciated!

7. Get Visual
Studies show that posts with visual images receive the most engagement.

Create original content that supports your brand and interests readers by uploading free public domain photos through sources like Pixabay or Unsplash.
Take advantage of free online editing and design tools, like Canva and PicMonkey. They turn plain posts into dazzling visuals with text overlays with the click of a mouse. For authors, I discovered a new app, Book Brush, that turns you book covers into stunning 3-D images.

Videos also boost engagement. Many of my author friends have great on-camera presence and do live feeds. I’m not there yet. However, a no-frills 30-second video of ice pelting my garden or ducks on my nature walk captured with my Iphone get 2-3 times my usual organic reach. You can also get fancy with video sites like Animoto and wave.video both of which have free basic plans.

8. EWWWWW…..Get Out of My Direct Messages

Repeat after me ...

"I will never
DM or pester my followers with a
buy-my-Insert*Product*Name
or follow-me-on-Insert-*Social*Media *url"

Direct messaging with marketing slams is the cyber-equivalent of being badgered by a plaid-suited snake oil salesperson. Just last week, a newbie author posted to my personal facebook page a 3-paragraph pitch for buying his new book, complete with link to his sell site. When I get messages like this, I delete them in a heartbeat. In this case, I also followed up privately with a firm message to STOP!

Ditto when new friends ask me to like a page or link that is totally out of my niche (can't do R-rated anything to stay true to my children's book community). These actions show they really don't know a jot about me.

9. Slow Progress IS Progress!

via GIPHY

Building your online presence is like building a wall. The foundation must be solid, and the rest assembled from there with care and precision. Cutting corners could bring the whole structure crashing down.
When I started my online community, it felt like eons passed before I got traction, no matter how hard I tried. True confession: some days, I still want to tear my hair out because building and maintaining online connections takes patience, sweat, and T*I*M*E.

Now you’re ready to tackle social media with confidence. People will follow you as they experience the RARE online voice that is Y*O*U as you demonstrate….
R         respect
A         authenticity
R         reciprocity
E          expertise

All the best for your journey building or strengthening your online new community! Let me know how you’re doing and what’s working for you. Hey, if we’re not connected in cyberspace, let’s make it happen and be RARE together -:D!