Social Media

Guest Article Share~’Beware of These 5 Social Media Mistakes.

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Book Promotion Tips For Authors, Featured Guest, Marketing and More, Posts , , , , ,

Hello and Welcome Readers, Authors, and Writers,

“I always enjoy sharing helpful articles I come across about book promoting and social media. And my dear friend Marsha Friedman from The PR Insider of  EMSI Public Relations always has fantastic tips and advice on how to use social media to our advantage.

I also teach my authors I book promote for just how important social media is to promote their books through. It is about engagement when using social media.
Building a following also builds your readership. Here is what Marsha suggests to us about social media.”

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Don’t Make This 5 Social Media Mistakes

Social media sites have become a powerful way to market your brand, but anyone who follows the news is aware they present pitfalls as well.

Companies end up apologizing over ill-advised tweets. Individuals create controversy with Facebook posts they thought were innocuous – or perhaps knew would be controversial but didn’t anticipate just how controversial.

If you’re like me, you probably have more than enough headaches without adding a social media blunder to the list! So to help you avoid some of the more common mistakes that businesses and individuals make, I asked EMSI’s social media team to chime in.

Here’s how they say many people go astray:

  • Treating every platform the same. Social media sites are different and you need to approach them differently. Facebook, for example, is the most consumer-friendly and the first place most people go, whether they want to share photos of their grandchildren or learn what others have to say about their experiences with a business. LinkedIn is better for business and professional purposes. Twitter, with its character limit on messages, is the high-speed, information-now site. It’s a great place to check news updates. You also can get away with posting more often here than you can on other sites.

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  • Posting too frequently – or not frequently enough. You want a happy balance here. Some people flood their followers with Facebook posts. It becomes too much of a good thing and your followers’ eyes glaze over as they scroll quickly past your latest post – perhaps thinking, “Oh, no! Not him or her again!” On the other hand, out of sight is out of mind. If you rarely post, then your followers forget about you – and that’s not good either.

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  • Failing to use hashtags. When you are on Twitter or Instagram, you are trying to become part of the conversation. The hashtag allows more people to see your contributions to that conversation. For example, if you were on Twitter and tweeted something without a hashtag, only your followers would see it. (Unless, of course, they re-tweeted it to their followers.) But if you use a hashtag, any number of people could end up being exposed to what you have to say.

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  • Using poor spelling or incorrect grammar. I don’t want to become the Punctuation Police here, but it’s important to project a professional image. Misspelled words and problems with subject/verb agreement create the opposite effect. That means you need to remember what Mrs. Schubert taught you back in your high school English class. If you are unsure about a word’s spelling or the grammar in a particular sentence, look it up. Your computer can help some here, but don’t let those computerized spelling and grammar checks become a crutch. They don’t catch everything. For example, they will skip right past it if you use “their” when you should have used “there.”

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  • Posting offensive or inappropriate material. You can ruin years of goodwill in an instant if your social media sites are used to post something that many people find offensive. You would think that’s easy enough to avoid. But not necessarily. Sometimes it might not be clear to you that a particular post or tweet could strike people the wrong way, so be careful out there. Here’s an example where a careless moment resulted in social media backlash. During this year’s Oscars, Total Beauty, an online publication, tweeted how delighted it was to learn that Oprah Winfrey has tattoos. Just one problem. The woman in the Oscar photo accompanying the tweet was Whoopi Goldberg, not Oprah Winfrey. Critics pounced on the publication, and some mocked the mistake by posting their own tweets mixing up white celebrities. Total Beauty apologized.

Ouch! Yes, there are potential downsides if you’re not careful about what you’re doing. But such blunders aside, social media is a powerhouse marketing tool.

That’s why I maintain that the biggest social media mistake – by far – is not to be on social media at all. Go visit The PR Insider Marsha Friedman Today for more tips!

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Marsha Friedman

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About Marsha Friedman
Marsha Friedman launched EMS Incorporated in 1990. Her firm represents corporations and experts in a wide array of fields such as business, health, food, lifestyle, politics, finance, law, sports, and entertainment. She consults individuals and businesses on a daily basis and is frequently asked to speak at conferences about how to harness the power of publicity.

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My Featured Article on Book Marketing Tools ~ Best Place For Authors!

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Author News, Book Promotion Tips For Authors, Marketing and More , , ,

Hello and Welcome Authors, Readers, and New Friends,

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Book Marketing Tools

My good friends RJ and the gang of Book Marketing Tools invited my again to contribute a new article for their fantastic blog and website. So I put together a little post that is now featured on their blog about my favorite free or low-cost places I add my book promoting clients/friends books too.  Here is a partial preview, and highly suggest all authors go sign up for free at Book Marketing Tools, and start learning how and where to promote all your fine books!

 

Fun, Free or Low-Cost Book Promotion

Are you looking for some ways to promote your book that do not cost a lot of money? In this guest post, book promoter Catherine Townsend-Lyon shares some of the tips she uses for clients of hers.

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“So, you are a brand new author and just released your first book. Now What?”

Many new authors seem to be promised the world on a silver platter when a publisher is courting them to publish their books with them, and as a new author you are so excited about your book being out in the world, you don’t remember half of what the publisher has offered you. I hear all the time from my book promoting clients how they were verbally promised everything under the sun including promoting their book. Sadly, if you don’t get it in writing in your publishing contractor agreement? Authors are holding the bag of promoting your books and at your cost! And you just broke the bank already with all your publishing costs.

Now that you have spent most of your budget on publishing costs, you also have no idea how or where to promote your books. Well, I am here to help you do that and more. I am Author, Catherine Townsend-Lyon, owner of Lyon Book Promotions. It is why I started my online book promotion business. I wanted to help new and seasoned authors learn how and where to promote their books for free or at very low-cost! But first, we need to know a little of the differences between say a Literary agent, Literary publicist, and Book promoter.

 

Literary Publicist: A person who publicizes, especially a press agent or public-relations consultant. an expert in current or public affairs. An expert in public or international law.

Literary Agent: A person who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers and film studios, and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same.


Literary Book Promoter: A person who promotes, especially an active supporter or advocate or paid publicity organizer to promote one’s work.
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Now that we know the differences, I promote clients books and their social media sites so readers can not only read their books, but it is important for an author to interact and engage with the readers as well. That helps current and future book sales and gain book reviews. So here are a few of my “go to book promo sites” every author should know about. Again, many book promotion listing sites will let you list your books for free, and submit a free Author Interviews. They will also share many other book sites with authors on their sites too. Many will also offer low-cost advertising book ads so you can build your readership. Here we go!

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My #1 choice right now is the fine folks at Awesome Gang. You can list your books and submit an author interview for free. They offer you a guarantee listing for a charge? But all my clients books were accepted under the free option. It just may take them a few days to your listing up on the site. The also have a fantastic Facebook Readers Club you can join, then you will see your book being promoted.

Now go visit my friends at Book Marketing Tools Blog and read “The Rest of my Advice & Tips.”

Author & Columnist, Catherine Townsend-Lyon :-)

Why Should Authors and Readers Engage & Connect With Each Other?

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Book Promotion Tips For Authors, Marketing and More, News Around The Web , , , , , , ,

 Hello Readers, Authors, and New Friends,

Why should authors and readers connect? There are many reasons why for both sides of this topic. As a book promoter, I know how important it is for an author to interact and engage with their reader fans. It creates more excitement for the reader to know an author is “touchable” and they can learn more about their favorite writers, which helps authors with book sales and gaining more book reviews for books. And it seems I am not the only book promoter, social media PR firm and book marketing site that feels this way.

Here are two articles I came across this week that can give insights as to why authors need and should interact and engage with readers throughout social media and many book sites are exclusively for this purpose like Goodreads. I will share snippets as I would like you to visit and join free so you can be “In The Know” with many tips and advice on book promoting  . . .
OUR FIRST is at  http://www.bookdaily.com/authorresource/blog/post/1805275

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“This morning I received three emails.”

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One was from a lady in Scotland who read one of my books and joined my fan page. She wanted me to know how much she appreciated waking up and finding that I had responded to her messages.

The second was from a man in Australia who sent me a list of things he liked about Silent Witness. He highlighted sentences that he particularly liked, but at the end of his note, he said, “thank you for making Hannah so intelligent.”

The third was from the very first fan I ever had. We’ve been pen pals for 28 years. Now we communicate on the computer but every once in a while we still send one another a card, remember birthdays, the holidays and share information on grandchildren (hers since I only have a grand dog).

The point of all this is that what authors do is extremely personal. It begins with our characters. If we don’t feel them in our souls and translate that feeling into words on the page, our books will be enjoyed but not treasured. When we do make that magic happen and a reader reaches out, opening a personal dialogue with them will make a reader into a fan. In some wonderful instances, it also creates a friend.

Here are my top five rules of engagement:

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1) Know thou characters: Know the personal history and habits of every character in your book and write as if you live and die with them. If you do this, real people will reach out to you . . .

Please stop by the link above to see all of Rebecca’s rules of engagement.
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OUR SECOND is by Marsha Friedman CEO & Founder, of EMSI PR Firm

No one really needs to convince me how great social media is for connecting you to your customers (Readers)  – and keeping you connected – but the point was reinforced perhaps better than ever this week when I was chatting with Jay York, our senior social media strategist.

Jay was telling me about Datz, a restaurant near his home in Tampa, that has impressed him with its excellent use of social media as a marketing tool.
Talk about connecting! Datz has more than 12,000 followers on Twitter. It has nearly 8,000 on Instagram. It has 1,280 mostly positive reviews on Yelp. And, perhaps most impressive of all, more than 40,000 people “like” Datz on Facebook.
Those are remarkable numbers for any business. But especially when you consider that Datz is a local restaurant and not a recognizable brand name like McDonald’s!
So why am I telling you this? Because this social media success story prompted me to have Jay share tips on how small businesses ( and authors promoting their books) can make the most out of their social media to keep customers and potential customers thinking about them.

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Here’s what Jay had to say:

  • Interact with customers. Engage your customers inside your business as well as outside it. Some of the most successful restaurant owners have mastered this, Jay says. They take the time to chat with and get to know their customers when they are dining at the restaurant, and they also interact with them on social media. Here’s where it’s worth remembering the “social” part of social media. These sites are all about having a conversation and people expect you to be involved in that conversation – or else they’ll be discouraged from interacting with you in the future.
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  • Use undivided attention opportunities to promote your social media. There are a few ways to do this, Jay says. In-store signage that encourages you to follow the business on social media is the most obvious. Restaurants, such as, might drive visiting customers to their social media sites by giving 10 percent off an entrée if they follow them right at that moment on Twitter. Professional speakers can use the same strategy when they’re in front of a large audience by posting their Twitter handle on the screen behind them. The point is to take advantage of the attention of hundreds or thousands of people – all with mobile devices – who can start following you immediately .  .  .

    .Again, please visit the link above to read the Tips to use social media to promote your books and small business. No matter the product, readers want to interact with you and this is a crucial part of your book promoting efforts. I hope you find these articles helpful. :-)

    *Author, Catherine Townsend-Lyon of Lyon Book & Social Media Promotions*

     

 

Social Media Is The Place To Be Promoting Your Books!

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Author News, Featured Guest, Marketing and More , , , ,

Hello Authors and Readers . . . Welcome!

Well my dear friend ‘Marsha Freedman’ from The PR Insider is at it again!
She has once again validated why I book promote throughout Social Media for my book promoting clients!

Social Media is where readers are finding more and more new fresh authors and their fantastic reads. So lets see what Marsha has to say on why to use social media as part of your Gourmet Book Marketing Stradegy . . . .

 ~ Give Your Social Media Efforts The Gourmet Touch ~

If you haven’t gone all in with social media by now, it’s time to make the commitment as you solidify your marketing plans for 2016.

Long gone are the days when you could afford to be a dabbler in social media. It’s developed into a full-fledged profession all its own, and many colleges offer courses and even majors in social media marketing.

Yet to this day I still see companies like book marketing firms and promoters for instance that do little with what should be a great marketing opportunity for their clients. Instead, they depend strictly on strategies that worked for them 5 or 10 years ago, with little or no awareness of the new digital tools that are available.

Frankly, even some companies that make the effort to embrace social media are missing its true value.

How far do some of them miss the boat?

Here’s how far.
Jay York, an EMSI social media strategist, just told me about a company that recently advertised a social media job opening. To Jay’s amazement, the company offered to pay the social media strategist a commission based on sales that resulted directly from the efforts.

Yikes! That’s a clear misunderstanding of social media and the role it plays in marketing. While social media certainly can lead to sales – especially for inexpensive items like books that people buy often – that’s not really its primary purpose.

“Social media is best for building a relationship with potential customers or clients, serving as a critical part of your overall branding efforts.”

Let me share a few steps to help you get the most out of your social media efforts in 2016.  .  .

  • Understand. Opportunities are changing on social media all the time as new features or options are added. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t understand how it all works. Delve into it and learn all you can. Most social media platforms offer free tips on how to get the best use of the sites, and in some cases those tips are specifically directed to businesses.
  • Plan. Study the different social media platforms and what each could do for you. For most people and companies, and especially small businesses, Facebook is probably the best place to start. Everyone seems to be on Facebook and they just expect that you will be, too. You also need to decide who in your organization will take responsibility for social media because someone needs to be the go-to person who posts new material, monitors feedback from followers and keeps up on trends. Finally, you will want to set a budget so you can get involved in social media advertising.
  • Commit. Don’t dip your toe in to test the water for a few months, and then withdraw if there’s no quick reward. Social media requires a long-term commitment as it’s about building your brand over time and not trying to make a quick strike overnight.

Ultimately, if you don’t have someone in your corner who understands social media and is on top of the newest platforms, the latest social marketing tools and aware of current tactics that have proven to be effective, you need to explore hiring a promoter or firm that can do it for you.

Jay (one of our in-house foodies) likens it to the kitchen of a gourmet restaurant, where so much opportunity would go to waste without a competent chef to oversee the operation.

“The point is, why limit yourself to heating a can of soup when the tools are there to prepare a glorious meal?”
Bon appétit!
  

“JUST TWEET IT BABY”! Use Twitter As Part Of Your Author Book Promotions And Social Media Marketing Plan…

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Marketing and More , , , ,

Hello and Welcome Friends, Writers, & New Visitors,

 

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Yes! That’s right. My opinion is….”Just Tweet It Baby!
Not many know that I have self-taught little ole me all about “Social Media & Book Promotions,” and it’s not easy. Social Media is forever changing and evolving, so keeping up on all the latest “HOT PICKS” is a job in itself. For me though, that’s part of the fun of learning new things about Social Media Marketing!
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So I thought I’d share a few things I found out about Twitter.com that I didn’t know before, and want to share some of their other services that enhance your Twitter experience, and save you time in the process. Now since I’m not an actual business, with a virtual store front. No, I’m just a penniless first time author promoting my paperback & eBook,  as to help others in Recovery from Gambling Addiction. I also share about living with undiagnosed, and then diagnosed Mental illness & disorders, as well as speak out about my own childhood trauma & abuse here on my blog. I share what I went through not as a victim, but as a survivor to let others know they are not alone, and help is available with NO Shame attached.  So I use Social Media to share information, educate, inform, and raise awareness of these important issues. And I use Twitter as part of my messaging this info out into the world!

Twitter has actually come a long way to helping many of us share information in a quick, short informative posts! Only 140 characters to be exact,…Lol,  but the hard part is to build your following of followers, so others will network with you in the form of Re-Tweets, Favorite your tweets, and share them with other tweet peeps!
For me as a person in Recovery, and is important to do, I use many HashTags#  in all my tweets to get my information to the targeted readers who maybe interested in what I’m tweeting about. I love to interact with others, and I try to show that too in my tweets as well. Why not get a reaction? Nothing wrong with that. It helps to create a “Buzz in Tweet World”!  Most all my tweet services I use are free, save you time in posting tweets, and you get a longer exposure time of your single tweet. For me that’s all things recovery, and all about my book and where they can find it, and learn where to visit me on both my blogs and Social Media sites. Come follow me on Twitter here,  @LUV_Recovery  &  @kitcatlyon….

One of the awesome tweet tools I use is here at: http://www.twilk.com/ where you can go and display your Twitter Supporters & Followers as your background of your twitter profile. It’s really fun to do. It shows you CARE about your tweet pals. Another great service for Twitter is http://www.commun.it.com/
Here is a little more about how you can use Twitter in many ways, and about how Commun.it helps you keep track of your peeps who interact with you!
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Discover more

Twitter is the best way to connect with people, express yourself and discover what’s happening. Get started at discover.twitter.com.

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Go to about.twitter.com/products to get Twitter on your mobile device.

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Dig into targeting, analytics, promotional tactics and marketing tools.Who will you reach on Twitter? How will you reach them? How can you tell if you’ve done a good job? Target with precision, connect directly with your audience and make sure you hit the mark.

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    COMMUN.IT will even tweet out automatically for you Thanks to your most “engaged tweeters” and more! So if your on Twitter? You should be using Commun.it to help save you time, post tweet Thanks, and shows you your most good follows and who to un-follow. Sorry, I have to put that in. So be engaged with your Tweet Friends! Network and compliment each other. Have FUN when your on Twitter! There are some awesome Tweet Chats that go on there too!
    Go check out all the tweet chat communities here http://www.tweetchat.com/ I enjoy my Recovery TweetChat #Addictionchat!
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    So what are you waiting for? Use Twitter as part of a well-rounded Social Media Marketing and Book Promotion Plan today.
    “JUST GO TWEET IT BABY”!
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    And since your here, come by my Recovery Blog here on WordPress too! Today is my One Year Blogging Anniversary on WP! You could even WIN a copy of my current book! http://CatherineLyonAddictedToDimes.wordpress.com I’ve been living LIFE in recovery 7+yrs, but my PASSION IS WRITING!
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    God Bless All,
    Author, Catherine Townsend-Lyon