I have a newfound respect for anyone that can (successfully) keep up with the demands of multiple social media accounts. Before I signed with Rowan Prose Publishing, I had personal social media accounts for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. As my followers and post volume show, I’m not very active.
Now, with a novel set to publish late next year, I have author accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (using my personal account for author stuff) BlueSky and TikTok. That might not seem like much, but for someone who is trying to grow their presence on each of these platforms, it can be overwhelming at times.
Each platform has its own methods for establishing an audience. Facebook and Instagram aren’t too bad as you can link those accounts and share posts. BlueSky is similar to Twitter – short and snappy posts designed to drive engagement and share parts of yourself and your creative works with the world. But then you get to TikTok and it’s a whole different ballgame.
I’m still in the early stages of TikTok, but it seems you have to be frequently active on the platform to gain prominence and influence. To be fair, my goal isn’t to be an influencer and pull in revenue. My goal is to build a decent audience so I can share my perspective and drive interest in my creative works (Legend Has It being the priority). The bigger the audience, the more eyes you have on your content.
TikTok, however, appears to benefit those who post multiple times a day. On the surface, it seems simple enough. You point a camera at yourself and record short snippets. Have a relevant thought in the car? Turn it into content. Want to share writing tips? Turn it into content. Have writer's block and want to capture the moment? Turn it into content.
I know there’s more to it than that, but for a novice, I understand how easy it is to post something for the sake of posting. My hope is to find the balance between frequency and quality (in other words, the happy medium).
It’s funny. I don’t think I truly appreciated the power of social media until I saw a term I didn’t know a few weeks ago in Target - BookTok. I saw a dedicated section for it with several books on the shelf. I figured it had to be related to TikTok (the Tok being the obvious giveaway). Then I looked it up and discovered an entire subculture that promotes books on the platform. The power of BookTok became even more apparent when I read an article about the resurgence of Barnes & Noble, which the CEO partially credited to BookTok.
That was when I realized I needed a presence there as well. As I’ve learned in a short time frame, you must be where your potential audience is. It’s a lesson newspapers discovered too late as the Internet took off.
I remember my early journalism days and the conversations about having a social media presence. Many newspapers resisted it, relying on their print and digital subscriptions and putting social media on the back burner. While the older generations might still prefer newspapers, the younger ones rely on social media for the majority, if not all, of their information. Had they jumped on those platforms early on, perhaps they’d be in a better place today.
It's still a little strange for this former journalist to express himself on these social media channels. When I was a journalist, I never put my perspective on my social media pages. I might have posted something funny or mentioned a random moment, but I kept my opinions on larger topics to myself. Our role was to report on the news without bias and let the readers make informed decisions. We weren’t told to engage with our audience on a personal level. Report the news so they stay informed.
I’m getting better at sharing on my social pages at least, but it can be tough to post relevant content on a consistent basis. Anyone who has built a massive following on any social media channel (famous people excluded) knows it’s not as easy as writing a few creative posts or creating high-quality content and watching the audience flock to your page. It takes a concentrated effort over an undefined stretch of time. When you have one social media page, it doesn’t seem too bad because you have a focal point. When you have multiple social media pages, it becomes an exercise in trying to keep up.
That’s not to say it doesn’t have its fun moments. Sometimes you have a great idea and it resonates with your audience. It’s also nice to chat with someone when they comment on your posts. I’ve seen a few people express their enthusiasm for Legend Has It through social media. It’s cool to see people excited about your work. While I prefer seeing it in person, you can’t be everywhere. Social media has its benefits and connecting with people through it is one of them.
The trick that I’m still working on is finding the balance between social media content and working on my next creative project. In a perfect world, it would be awesome if I had someone who could handle my social media content for me while I focus on writing the next novel. But it’s okay. I still remember my journalism days when multitasking was an essential skill set. It’s a good thing it’s all muscle memory at this point.
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