Mastering Social Media

I am a bit late in blogging about this, blame my NaNoWriMo 2017 commitment, but it is definitely something I want to shout about.

A few weeks back I attended part two of Anita Chapman’s one-day seminar/workshop on how to get the most out of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and blogging for writers.  At this point I will mention that it is for writers of ALL disciplines and genres, not just fiction writers. Part one was a year ago, I enjoyed it so much and learnt so much that attending part two was a no brainer for me.

In advance of the day Anita sent out questionnaires so that she could deliver exactly what we wanted within the framework of what she had planned for us. She purposefully kept the group small, just five (it was meant to be six but one person had to cancel just before the day due to unforeseen circumstances). That way we all had our say and had personal attention within the class for our specific problems or areas of lack of understanding. This bit actually seemed to blend seamlessly though, rather than a somewhat tedious 'deal with person one then on to person two', we all learnt from each other’s problems as Anita skillfully guided us through the pros and cons muddle of social media.

The list of what we learnt is huge, but here are just a few things: 

• privacy settings for all social media platforms
• adding/modifying share buttons
• how to link all the different platforms
• tackling the TweetDeck and all it has to offer so that it really works for you and your brand/style of writing (I've gone from hating to loving my TweetDeck)
• Facebook ads – what works and what doesn’t and how and when to use them without losing loads of money on them 

Everything was supported by detailed handouts, which have proved so useful in the days after the course.

I need to give a shout out to the venue too. The day was held at the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury – very easy to find and held in a self-contained seminar suite on the first floor. We had tea, coffee, snacks……….cake (far too much cake) all on tap as and when we wanted it. Part of Anita’s own course deal was that lunch was also included. The room was very comfortable and it was only part way through the afternoon that someone commented on the lack of a window. I was shocked, I hadn’t noticed, partly due to really getting into the seminar information, but also because the room was so comfortable. Here we are in action.

If you are a writer who wants to know how to get the best out of your social media outlets and really get them working for you I would highly recommend Anita’s courses. She is so generous with her information too and you can find a lot of helpful information on her websites, as well as details of forthcoming courses www.neetsmarketing.com and www.neetsmarketingblog.com but as with all these interactive things, nothing replaces actually being in the room with a person in the know directing it.

The proof of the pudding – since putting into place several of the things I have learnt my blog views have risen almost threefold and my Twitter account is gathering momentum nicely.