How active are you on social media sites?

If you have been reading my blog for a while now you will probably be aware that I am all for writers promoting themselves and their writing skills.  A good way of doing this is by participating on various social media and networking sites.

How well connected are you online? (Image copyright Clix, used with thanks)

The main one I get involved with is Twitter, but I have also delved into other sites online.  Technorati has proved useful for making sure this blog reaches a wider audience for example.  There are a few other sites I am currently exploring, such as MyBlogLog, which seems to be quite good.

But I have learned that the best results take time to get.  I am just approaching the 1,000 followers mark on Twitter, which is a real milestone for me.  I have linked up with some other writers on there, as well as winning one job from someone who was following my tweets for a while beforehand.  It just goes to show you never know when your social networking will pay off.

This is the point of this blog post.  It’s easy to spend time networking and delving into social media sites without feeling like you are getting anything in return.  But you are.  You are getting your name known.  You are building your brand.  You are making it easier for people to say “Ah yes, Allison Whitehead.  I’ve come across her work before…” (insert your name in place of mine!)

It’s not a case of constantly promoting.  It’s a case of constantly making sure people can find you more easily.  And if you have your own website or blog you’ll get a steady increase in traffic as well.  Don’t expect everything to happen overnight – but expect results, because you WILL get them if you keep going.

Anyone up for some tweeting, then?

Tags: social media, social networking, twitter