Find the Best Posting Schedule For You with Avoid Social Media Time Suck

If you're anything like me, you probably think posting about your work occasionally on Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Facebook will get the job done. I often tell myself that the fact that I have any sort of social media presence at all is helpful to my platform as a freelance writer and blogger, but I'm starting to think differently. I'll admit that, working from home, I use Facebook mostly in lieu of a virtual watercooler whenever I get bored, think of something zippy to say or need advice about something which may or may not be related to writing and publishing.

Everything I've learned about social media over the past five or six years has mostly been self-taught and through books and blogs I follow. Because of this, I was excited to get the chance to work with author and social media strategist Frances Caballo on her WOW! Women on Writing blog tour for Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers To Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write.

One of the chapters I found to be most helpful includes examples of posting schedules designed to help writers promote themselves while still having time to do all the other things we have to do, such as write our books, promote our work, pitch articles, follow up on queries, and so on.

Caballo points out that it is important to know when to post because you want to make sure your updates are seen. For example, it's best to schedule messages on Facebook between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. If you're posting on Twitter, four posts a day are optimal. The real action on LinkedIn occurs during the week, etc.

For writers who are looking to increase their exposure and marketing messages, Avoid Social Media Time Suck includes handy charts with basic, moderate and advanced posting schedules, as well as which apps work best for finding new followers and analyzing your social media stats. I'm definitely tucking this information away for the day when (not if! I'm being optimistic!) I publish my first book. I highly encourage you to check out Avoid Social Media Time Suck, as well as Frances Caballo's other books designed to help writers navigate social media.

Intrigued? Enter to win your own copy of the book on Goodreads during the month of April.
                                                                               

Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers To Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write

By Frances Caballo

Social media is no longer an option for writers--it is a required element of every author’s platform. If you’ve been avoiding Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social networks because you think tweeting and posting will take large chunks of time out of your day and leave you with little time to write, think again. Using social media to market your books doesn’t need to be time-consuming. And with the four-step formula you’ll find in this book, it won’t be.

Whether you’re a seasoned or a newbie social media user, this book will introduce you to posting schedules, timesaving applications and content-rich websites that will help you economize the time you spend using social media to promote your books. You will learn:

• How to create and perfect your author platform.
• Where great content exists on the Internet and how you can use it to further your brand within your niche.
• The importance of being social and applications that make this task easy and fun.
• Tools that enable you to track and measure your success so you can better understand the return on investment of your valuable time.
• Which tools prevent you from accessing the Internet when the time comes to sit and write that next book.
• Exercises for introverted writers to help you feel comfortable on the social web.
• If you’ve avoided social media because you feel you just don’t have enough time, you’ve used it sporadically and missed the opportunity to widen your audience of readers, or you’ve been frustrated by how long it takes you to conduct social networking tasks, Avoid Social Media Time Suck is the book for you.

Meet Frances Caballo:

Frances Caballo is a social media strategist and manager for authors. Her books include Social MediaJust for Writers: The Best Online Marketing Tips for Selling Your Books

and Blogging Just for Writers. Her clients include the San Francisco Writers Conference, the Women’s National Book Association—San Francisco Chapter, and the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association. A free ebook, Pinterest Just for Writers, is available on her website at www.SocialMediaJustforWriters.com.

Find out more about this author by visiting her online:

Website/blog:

http://socialmediajustforwriters.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SocialMediaJustforWriters

Twitter: @CaballoFrances

Do you have any sort of posting schedule for social media, and if so, what does it look like? 

The Social Media Spiral

Oh look, a shot of me on vacation checking my phone!

My name is Renee and I am a social media junkie. In this day and age, it's hard not to be. I am attracted to social media sites for a number of reasons. One, I work from home, and there are times I just need to interact with another human being and chatting with someone via Facebook and Twitter is about the closest I can get to a water cooler. I also use social media sites for book and article research and to promote the latest issue of the magazine I edit or announce a giveaway on this blog.

I've been on Facebook forever but resisted LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter for the longest time. But over the past few years, I've reluctantly signed up, mostly because I know if I ever want to become a published novelist, I'll need to expand my professional network and those sites are the quickest ways I can do that.

But I will admit that these sites sometimes send me plummeting into moments of envy and self-pity, and I hate feeling that way. I came across an interesting post on Facebook the other day (of course, I get all my important news from social media sites!) and it really resonated with me.  The post was shared from the Proverbs 31 Ministries, but I think regardless of your faith, there is something we can all take away from the root of the message:

It can be so easy to roam social media sites for hours, comparing our lives to others. While there are some really neat and helpful ideas/recipes/tips for sure . . . sometimes envy, feelings of failure and dejection set in.

I am guilty of this. Scrolling through Pinterest I start to feel ashamed that my kitchen is in dire need of updating, my bedroom isn't picture perfect and I'll never be able to decorate the perfect birthday cake for my kids. Looking at my news feed on Facebook I wonder if I'll ever be able to travel to some of the tropical destinations my friends are visiting and Twitter sends me into a spiral of depression because I'm not working hard enough to publish a book.

I'm glad I came across the Proverbs 31 Ministries message, even if I did have to do it via social media. Every couple of months I take a break from social media sites and give myself a breather. I concentrate on my work projects and spend much needed time with my family. In fact, my husband and I have a trip planned next month and the place we are staying is in the mountains and has no wi-fi. He's thrilled, and I'm glad I'll be forced to spend time breathing the fresh air and not checking my iPhone. If you're feeling overwhelmed by social media, I recommend you do the same!