social media for writers, editors and freelancers

Marq Mosier | [email protected] | LinkedIn: /in/marqmosier

Marq Mosier : Online Marketing Manager – Hart Energy Publishing

• Degree in Communications with a focus in Social and New Media from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.

• Non-profit developing internal social media platforms.

• Small businesses developing social media marketing to accompany public relations efforts and traditional marketing campaigns

• Currently working with a small local business to promote their children’s party services


Basic Overview: What is social media?

Wiki definition - Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many)

The Big FourThe Big Four


The Big FourThe Big Four


Positives

• Users update their status with messages no longer than 140 characters in length. This fits easily into most people’s schedules. • Twitter aggregates its search by time as opposed to traditional optimization methods, which oftentimes results in more relevant searching than you find elsewhere. • Very easy to get started. • Twitter gives users the ability to share information faster than almost any other method available. • Ability to see retweets and lists gives instant feedback so that you can see what audience it is that you are reaching. • Easy to gain a large following to drive traffic to your main website


Negatives

• Easy to gain or follow too many people, diluting the personal interaction that makes social media such a valuable tool for anyone looking to build a network. • Limited amount of space for in-depth discussion • Lots of spam accounts have been popping up over the last year or so, so you have to constantly monitor your followers and purge unwanted fake accounts.


Positives

• Highly customizable. Facebook offers everything from a place to blog, post videos, podcasts, and news links to personal interaction at whatever length you see fit. • The second most popular site on the Internet, so visibility here is much more likely than most other sites. • Privacy settings can limit your access to friends, fans or others who visit.

• The ability to link to other Website’s stories, yet keep the comments and dialogue on Facebook, allows for a unique degree of control over content you didn’t create,

letting you regulate as much or as little as you need to.


Negatives

• As is the case with Twitter, your page can easily become cluttered and difficult to manage if you are not careful.

• Cross promotion of products, ideas and other unwanted variables by other members can easily find their way to your page if you aren’t diligent in your maintenance.

• Limited visual customizability due to the homogeny of the site’s look and feel can limit aesthetic brand promotion.


Positives

• The premiere site for business and professional social networking.

• Easy to find other professionals within your industry or with similar interests.

• Administrators of ‘groups’ can mass email members of the group, though they cannot see the emails. This is also a positive because people are less hesitant to join a group since there is no sharing of their email address.

• RSS feeds, Twitter accounts, blogs and more can be linked to member or group pages for an easy one-stop-shop.


Negatives

• Since the site is professionally oriented it is a bit harder to connect with people on non-industry related personal levels.

• It is easy for someone to easily influence an entire segment of an industry through LinkedIn, but this can also have an adverse affect as well. Whether true or not, members can easily post to your whole group or network, which depending on what it is can be less than a good thing. This is also a pitfall of Facebook, but on LinkedIn chances are much greater that your coworkers, boss, clients etc. will be able to see it.

• All of your professional activities and connections essentially become public.


Positives

• YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world, and the third most popular site overall.

• Options for creativity in video are endless. Sketches, interviews, art, tutorials, slideshows, music, or even audio only.

• In my experience, once someone subscribes to your channel on YouTube they are much less likely to unsubscribe as users are on other sites.


Negatives

• As me previous point in positives noted, people can choose to ignore your updates, which is a huge negative.

• The inability to properly monetize the site has led to frequent changes in the advertising structure.

• The infinitely large amount of users means constant maintenance on your comments to keep them clean. You can turn comments off, but this of course eliminates some of the social aspect you are actively seeking to open dialogue with other users.

• You may not have the means or desire to learn how to make videos or other material to upload to the site, rendering it a non-option for you. YouTube is a bit more singularly focused than the other three sites.


Incorporation

• Figure out which tools/platforms work for you

• Find out what policies your company has in place regarding social media.

• Research what your company is already doing and who is involved.

• Take a stance. You don’t have to be overly contentious, but don’t be afraid to make your opinions a part of the discussion. Remember, you’re selling yourself.


Blogs

• If you don’t already have one, start one.

• Blogs are easily searchable and a familiar format for most people.

• Don’t just participate on your blog, find other blogs to read, comment and be part of the discussion on. Blog commenting is still one of the best ways to establish your intellectual expertise in a specific area.


Keeping your information organized

• Aggregate your content, it will streamline your day.

• Use an aggregation tool to not only disseminate information, but to collect it as well. RSS can be one of your greatest sources of intel.

• For events the application for these tools is evident. Just look back to SXSW in Austin last March and see Cliqset’s partnership with Mashable on “Austin Real time”


Blogs?LiveJournal?

Twitter?

MySpace?

Facebook?

Podcasting?

Streaming video?

Digg?

Yoono?Stumble Upon?

Paid premium?Free?

Webinars?

Pandora?

IMEEM?

Friendfeed?

Mashable?LinkedIn?

Delicious?

Needtomeet?

Orkut?

qq?


Trade Publications are in a good position

• Trade publications are well positioned for a number of reasons.• The wheels do not move as slowly in smaller organizations.• Many smaller trades have always offered paid content, so asking customers

to pay isn’t as hard as it is for publishers like local newspapers who have traditionally offered free or cheap content. • Trade publications have embraced social media and Web 2.0 mediums like webinars and podcasting to compete with the large publishers.

• Smaller budgets are no longer a disadvantage with the distribution channels opened up by social media.

• Distribution and dialogue now happen in unison and share the same space.

• Personal connections with a brand are more valuable and achievable now.


Get what you give…or what you’re told; what to expect

• Have a plan, but expect to adapt quickly to changes in communication.

• The amount of time you put in will be directly proportional to what you get out.

• Listen to what OTHERS expect of you.

• Let others determine how you communicate, what you communicate, when you

communicate, and why you choose to continue to communicate.

• Enjoy the conversation.


Marq [email protected]: /in/marqmosier

social media for writers, editors and freelancers

Career

trade publications

social media

marq mosier

marqmosieryahoo

personal interaction

marqmosier

marqmosier

popular site