Challenge Day 7; Write A Review: Why Social Networking Is Your Friend

Once upon a time there was no internet. People would meet other people face to face. We would pick up our phones – that were attached to the walls in our homes – and call people. To arrange to meet them. Face to face.

Simple times, yes?

Well, to a point.

When used correctly, the internet can offer us a truck load of possibilities.  It’s because of this the world has become much smaller. I can easily communicate with someone in Iceland or Alaska without ever having to leave the comfort of my house in Australia. I can eagerly share a photo of my top-notch mocha from my favourite coffee-house with people I will never ever breathe the same air with.

Social networking is an absolute godsend when it comes to self promotion. I myself haven’t utilised it enough.  To be honest, I havent figured Twitter out yet. I know that it’s not rocket science but hashtags? Trending? Huh??

Facebook  is a fantastic tool if you know how to use it properly. Creating your own page that you can dedicate to just your craft? What a wonderful option for people who want to start small with no cash outlay at all. Having a corporate advertiser on your side is great but these people need to be paid. And usually in large amounts.

Would someone like Justin Bieber have gotten to where he is now without the likes of YouTube? He posted his videos as a way to showcase his talent,  got noticed and the rest is history. Where would someone like that be 20 years ago? Or even as little as 10 years ago?

Social networking affords millions of people the chance to self promote because lets face it, for writers the whole publishing dance ain’t easy. Firstly, it’s actually getting a publishing house to read your manuscript. Finding someone to accept it, edit it, publish it. Promote it. That takes time; money. Something that most people don’t have a ton of. I’ve ‘met’ some great authors since I’ve started blogging – authors I would not have had the pleasure of reading if it wasn’t for WordPress.

So my advice to anyone starting out? Social network like it’s going out of style. Use it. Abuse it. (Within reason of course).

To the experienced social networkers out there, do you have any favourite sites or strategies that have helped promote your work?

Related articles

• Social Networking – Great Marketing Tool or Complete Waste of Time? (simplybusinesscoaching.com)
• User activity: A comparison of social networking sites [infographic] (holykaw.alltop.com)
• What you need to know about LinkedIn (publicrelationssydney.com.au)
• Sure-footed Social Networking (webroot.com)
• Shy Writing vs. Outgoing Social Media (genesedavis.com)