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[Graphic by Hallie Bateman]
Platforms that began as a way for regular people to write honest reviews and interact with fellow readers have slowly mutated into tidal waves of BUY ME.
Yes, I know I am guilty with my contests for reviews but the odds are low and the prizes spectacular.
{Check my last post}
Vicki Thompson wrote of SOCIAL MEDIA BURNOUT:
Are you getting burned out by the SOCIAL MEDIA TREADMILL?
The problem however, is that simply showing up is rarely ever enough. And with so many things that need to get done, it’s easy to end up back on the treadmill—doing enough to make being on social media worth your time but never enough to get the type of results you were hoping for when you got started.
Hope is not a marketing strategy.
Being the last tier in a pyramid scheme is poor positioning for success.
1) Once you join, you want to turn off most of your
"notifications" or your inbox will be glutted with them.
2) If you put a + in front of somebody's name on Google+, it works like an @
symbol on Twitter. Use it and the person will be notified that you're talking to
him.
3) If you go to your profile page and click on the big "G+" it brings a dropdown
menu with all sorts of great options, like "communities."
I read the whole article, and my nose started to bleed, and Ratatoskr's head threatened to explode.
The fact was that I was overwhelmed by what I call the social media treadmill. I just could no longer keep up with the forever changing social media trends
and I did not want the responsibility of managing yet another platform.
I was burned out.
We are constantly bombarded with information and requests to be part of them. It makes us feel as though we will fail if we are not part of each and every platform.
As a result, we end up joining every site available hoping to get our personal social brand “out there.” The reality is it will give you the exact opposite result.
- There is no way that you will become the top contributor on all social media sites, there are simply too many to manage.
- When a new social media site is introduced, if you are one of the first persons to join it, you will master it before others do.
- There are some social media sites that unless you are the owner of Facebook, you will never be part of the VIP status on it. It is just the nature of the business.
- If you spend your days focusing on keeping up with current trends instead of writing engrossing novels, how will you ever make a social site work for you?
Don't forget LUCIFER'S ORPHAN is FREE MONDAY & TUESDAY
Ratatoskr wants you to see where he spends his days:
Roland I am somewhat guilty of this. I am way too involved in social media and I sometimes think I need to take a step back :)
ReplyDeleteI can't even keep up with Blogger... :-) For me any time spent on it takes away from the time for writing, although I enjoy interacting with my blogging friends. Besides, posts on so many of these platforms are ephemeral...
ReplyDeleteOptimistic Existentialist:
ReplyDeleteBeing a rare blood courier, I have so little free time to write much less to do all that the experts say I should do on Social Media. Whew!
Vesper:
I miss you when you don't visit, but I understand. I try to make my posts pertinent and on subjects that are not transitory. On Twitter, the lengths are so short that they can be nothing but ephemeral -- and you're right: in that case, why bother?
No social media burnout for me. I'm still in my twenties, so it's involuntary, like blinking.
ReplyDeleteI've seen people on Twitter, and Google+, and Tumblr, and blogging, etc. etc. They're usually the ones who burn out. You can't do everything. Find what you're good at and drop the rest.
You've shared some valid information.
ReplyDeleteKeeping up with social media made it too hard to keep up with writing and other things I want to do. Google + is easy, because it shows up right after I publish my blogs. It's also easy to share other people's posts, because I'm already on Google when I'm commenting on them. However, I doubt I'll ever be an expert on any social media platform.
J E:
ReplyDeleteHow's the back? Better I hope. Google+ loads too slow, if at all, for me, so I usually stay away.
You're right: try to do everything and you do burn out!! :-)
M.J.:
I won't be an expert either! So don't feel bad. Thanks for liking my post! :-)
Yup, I'm burned out - a complete failure at the social networking thing. And pretty sure it doesn't really matter! LOL
ReplyDeleteYolanda:
ReplyDeleteIt probably helps, but like you, I am burned out by it all. This latest by Google+ was the last straw. :-)
I'm totally overwhelmed by social media but keep trying to figure out how to find some kind of balance and use them appropriately. But usually my head is ready to explode like Ratatoskr's!
ReplyDeleteRoland, thank you so much for the gift of your latest book!! That was such a wonderful surprise and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. I can't wait to start reading and this is a perfect Halloween treat. Thank you! :)
Julie:
ReplyDeleteSocial Media is something that always keeps me off-balance -- the rules and sites keep changing!
Ratatoskr's happy you mentioned him. Lock your sugar bowls from now on -- he's probably going to visit!
I hope you enjoy my book. Remember: some lucky reviewer will win the autograph of Henry Fonda in a THE GRAPES OF WRATH still or the autograph of Vin Diesel!
I totally understand this burnout-- I've been feeling it too. I tend to favor Twitter the most, since it's quick and simple and I can have little conversations with people.
ReplyDeleteI'm only involved in a couple sites and it's already too much.
ReplyDeleteShallee:
ReplyDeleteLittle conversations is right with Twitter! Really little. :-)
I think we all are feeling a bit of media .
LD:
It does seem all too much at times, doesn't it?
I've had to readjust my social media dealings. I found myself on the pendulum of not doing anything then suddenly doing too much. I've narrowed my focus a bit and am trying to be slightly consistent a few places while getting a chance to work on my writing more.
ReplyDeleteRoland, why are you soooo nice? :-) :-) :-) (I love it!) I do read all your posts (please remember that) -they're such a pleasure to read- but at work Blogger is blocked so, if I cannot comment on the spot, it happens that the day just goes by and then it's simply gone... And it's not as if I wrote anything else either... just drowning in chores... (and reading Rites of Passage)
ReplyDelete:-)