Ignoring your social media is worse than not having it to begin with

I have a HUGE pet peeve. People ignoring their social media. 

I know not everyone has the time to be online all day every day, but as a small business or a self-employed person like a writer/author, you NEED to check it periodically. If not once a day, then at least every other day. The world uses social media as a major way of communication. If you ignore it, you're ignoring possible customers. 

Little story here. A few weeks ago I was helping some friends collect donations for a fundraiser we were organizing. The proceeds went to Roswell Park Cancer Institute, a VERY well-known hospital in our area, as well as the entire country. To save time, and to make it easier on us, I sent messages through Facebook to about 20 local businesses asking for donations. Guess how many responded. 4. The rest hadn't even read the message. (Love how FB lets you see when the message has been viewed.)

So…I don't know about you guys, but that leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth. Regardless if they would have donated or not, all I cared about was a reply. I could have been asking an important question about their business. Business owners need to accept the fact that customers reach out to them in more ways than just the telephone these days. 

In my opinion, if you have no intention of keeping up with your social media, don't have it at all. 

How to Twitter

I can't say I'm a pro at anything. I'm not real sure how anyone can say they are unless they've spent a long time learning the ins and outs of a certain thing. And even then, can a person truly know everything??

But anyway, I do feel like I have a decent handle on Twitter, even if I don't have thousands of followers.

So here's my basic little Twitter How-To!

I know it can be real intimidating for those who have never used Twitter before. I'm the kind of person who likes to get in and just start using something, figure it out as I go. I have always been a hands-on learner. I get bored reading too much text. I often skim. Which can be bad. I know I miss things. Once I get into something and if I hit a snag, then I will go back and read and figure it out. It's probably not a great learning strategy, but it works for me.

The first time I gave Twitter a go, I didn't really get it and didn't have the time to figure it out. So it lost luster fast. I gave it a second try and that's when I really figured it out. Here's what I've learned:

- Twitter is social media-emphasis on social- and it only works if you mix up your posts. It's very encouraged to mix business with pleasure. People want to connect, not just read promo. People will pay more attention to your promo if you have a personal relationship first.

- In relation to the above, many people on Twitter are not there to promote themselves. They are just there to socialize. They're not going to follow you if all you do is talk about your business stuff.

- Reply to other people's Tweets. Converse. I know it's not easy to chat with someone with a 140 character limit, but the more you do it, the better you become at keeping your thoughts brief and getting right to the point.

- Have a few laughs! People are always posting funny things. Twitter can be for fun, not just business purposes.

- Share other people's links, but don't go crazy. It's great to help friends out, but whether it's your own promo or promo for someone else, it's still promo.

- Don't go into it thinking you have nothing to say. Everyone has something to say.

- Use the search feature. If you're interested in a certain topic, search it. You'll be amazed at what you find. If you love knitting, you'll find other Twitterers who also love knitting. If you're a fan of a band, you can find others who are also.

- Use Twitter to connect with local stuff. Follow your newspaper's Twitter feed. Follow local organizations and businesses, sports teams, etc... I get much of my news updates from my Twitter feed and find out about local happenings that way too.

- And lastly, go ahead and follow celebrities! They rarely reply to you, but it really is interesting to get a glimpse into their lives. If you're into that sort of thing!

So there's my simple guide to Twitter! Hope it was helpful! And if you wnat to come check me out on Twitter, click here!

Jump in! Be the conversation starter!

Recently there was conversation at my local chapter's RWA meeting about Twitter. Many felt intimidated because it feels like walking into a room where all the people are already in their own conversations. I guess I can see that and understand it.

I am a big fan of Twitter. (Come on over and check me out if you so desire!! Click here!) I wasn't at first though. It was confusing and I wasn't real sure what I was supposed to be doing. I started following others and reading what they had to say. I followed industry professionals and learned so much from them. I started interacted with the people I followed and even the professionals. I became part of the conversations instead of just reading them.

And then I started posting my own thoughts. I heard someone recently call Twitter a micro blog and that's exactly what it is. Tiny little snippets of your mind. I started my own conversations. People started responding to me.

In the real world, I'm not so great at being bold and starting conversations or even joining ones already in progress. But in the Twitter world I am more comfortable. I'm hoping it will help me in real life to become more like that.

Social media makes us LESS social?? I disagree.

Today I came across this Tweet: "If you think that social media, despite the name, hasn't made us less social than ever... you've got rocks in your head."

I think I get what the Tweeter is saying...that people rely too much on social media to communicate and less on actual face to face conversations and phone calls. But I really and truly think social media has made me closer and more in tune with my friends and family.

First of all....Facebook has allowed me to keep in touch with family members from all over the country...even the world. My cousin's husband was stationed in Germany for three years. Facebook allowed me and my cousin to stay in contact and chat whenever we wanted. It's been a long time since we've lived in the same town and FB made it possible for us to become close. And now that she's in Hawaii for the next 3 years, I can still keep in close contact with her. I am able to be a part of my friend's daily lives who no longer live in this area. It allowed me to get to know a cousin I never really knew because she was born and grew up a few states away. Until FB, I had only even seen her a few times in my life. Now, in our mid 30's, I can finally consider her a real friend.

Secondly, I am a mom with a career and kids with activities who has friends with careers and families and activities. I do not have time to go have coffee with every one of my friends and family members each week to see how they are and catch up on their lives. As much as I would love to. Life is different these days. It's not like the 50's when most moms were home all day and could get together and chat. But you know what? I can hop on Facebook for twenty minutes and be caught up on all my friends and their families and what they're doing, have a few laughs, view some photos.

Third, social media has allowed me the opportunity to make friends all over the country and world, who I never would have had the chance to meet otherwise. Wonderful and amazing people. Sometimes you need to go outside your circle of friends to find the support and camaraderie you need. I am a writer and no one I knew in my day to day life did that. I found a writers group in my city from an online community. And they were great. I adored them. But still, none wrote what I wrote and I really craved kinship with those like me. And I found them. Social media helps people to not feel alone. There are people out there just like you, loving what you love, no matter what it is. And technology has allowed us to connect easily.

So, I don't know what you all think, but I guess I have rocks in my head. I am so so thankful for what social media has done for me. No, it's not perfect and it has its drawbacks, but when used properly, it is amazing. There has to be balance, just like all things in life. It should not replace all human interaction, but it is great for when face to face human interaction just isn't possible. But when you are in the presence of other humans, the phones should be put away.

Tweets of the week!!

Here's this week's installment!! Enjoy!!

@jentoinfinity: You're sleeping with the wrong people. RT @INDIEAUTHORHULK WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET A LITERARY AGENT, BUT SO EASY TO GET CHLAMYDIA?

@MattBryantDFW: The problem with the bat-signal is it lets everybody in freakin' Gotham know he's coming.  It should be a subtle iPhone app.

@RickyGervais: Following someone on Twitter & then complaining about what they tweet about is like stalking someone & complaining that they walk too fast.

@AdvicetoWriters: Writers get paid for what other people get scolded for: daydreaming. We’re supposed to wander. RICHARD WALTER

@RuthiKnox: I just need to say, for the record, because I'm really feeling it today: God, I love being a romance writer.

@thejessbess: I've been calling 1-900-MIX-ALOT, but no answer. So I'm not quite sure how else to kick these nasty thoughts.

@BuffaloGrlProbs: I've been doing a lot of bikram yoga...except room temperature and no stretching and in my bed watching TV. #workoutplan #buffalogirl

@RubenAgency: Don't be too serious as a writer. Or anything. If you're not having fun, you're probably doing it wrong.

Tweets of the Week!

I just came up with this fun new idea. I think it's fun, anyway!!

I am on Twitter pretty often. (@StephaniHaefner, if ya wanna follow!) And I come across some really funny, awesome, inspiring, entertaining Tweets. I sometimes retweet them, but I thought it might be neat to collect them and do a weekly post here!

So here we go!

@saralapolla: I'd never actually do this, but sometimes I feel like auto-rejecting when I see the line "As if _____ wasn't bad enough..." in queries.

@alannacoca: Long pants, long sleeves, a jacket, and hot tea. Autumn is here. Dammit.

@stephbeck123: Think if I add a nice scarf to my outfit it will distract enough for people not to notice if I wear sweat pants to my meeting tonight?

@lindseysine: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did. Mark Twain

@angelajames: A submission where the author let us know he wouldn't be doing any edits on the sex scenes. Always good to know. #editreport

@redhotbooks: Life is almost always better after a snack.