Monday’s Blogging 201 task (Dig Deep Into a Social Network) is not really one I’m enjoying as much, because currently it’s simply reminding me of how much I despise a lot of social media.
I’ve blogged about it before, specifically my frustrations with Twitter. In the months that have passed since then, I can’t really say that my opinions have changed.
If anything, my opinion of Twitter has dropped.
Twitter never sounded like a ‘thing’ that would interest me to start with – I had many friends who jumped the Twitter bandwagon early on, but it never appealed to me. I finally signed up (years later) when I’d heard repeatedly that essentially anyone who wants to sell books one day needs to be on Twitter (and Facebook, and LinkedIn, and… and… and when the heck am I supposed to, you know, WRITE said books?)
Quitting Twitter is something that I’ve contemplated many times over the past couple years, but I’ve been diligent-ish in my use of it. I share all my blog posts. I make sure to post personal things so I’m not just posting links. I check in a few times a week to see what’s happening with the people I follow, and I try to start conversations. It doesn’t always go well, but it’s an effort.
But I feel like there’s been so little payback for the effort I’ve put into it.
I have probably triple the ‘followers’ on Twitter than I do on Facebook.
Stands to reason that I should have triple the blog clicks, right?
Welp. According to my stats… I have less than one-third the clicks from Twitter (212) than I do from Facebook (697).
So I’m really struggling to see why it’s worth it.
I just don’t ‘get’ Twitter, and as I told a friend earlier “Twitter is a chore to me. I like Facebook and Pinterest and tsu. But Twitter makes me go ‘ugh’.”
And I just don’t want to say those 212 clicks weren’t worth anything… but considering that I stress out over Twitter way more than I do Facebook, and I’m getting much less out of it… why should I keep stressing out?
So, I’m officially taking Twitter off my plate. I’m not deleting my account, but I am making it private (for the time being), and I’m not going to concentrate my efforts there because all I feel is frustrated.
I’m still pretty happy with my decisions a while back to nix my Facebook page (and just use my private account for now) and Google+. I actually think I’ve gotten MORE hits from G+ since I stopped using it – evidently other people share my posts on there more effectively than I did.
The only social media I’m focusing on, period, is Facebook, tsu, and Pinterest. Facebook I’ve pretty much got the hang of, and tsu isn’t much more complicated.
So, my goals for better utilizing social media are:
- Post 10x (ish) a week on Facebook/tsu, not including sharing other posts. I cannot ‘meet’ this requirement in a single day, it needs to be spread out.
- Share at least 2 posts a week from other bloggers that I enjoyed.
- Make sure appropriate posts get ‘pinned’ on Pinterest (book reviews, urban gardening things, etc.)
- Reach out more to my followers.
And ugh, now that it’s taken me three days to write this blog post, I’m going to go do something else now. Like panic over the fact that my brother’s birthday is tomorrow and we’re hosting dinner and the house is a wreck. Whee.
jeanmariebauhaus
February 12, 2015 - 6:11 pm ·I’ve always told my clients that they don’t HAVE to be on every social network or any one particular network. They should figure out which one(s) they’re most comfortable with and put their time and energy there.
That said, Twitter’s a terrible place to promote anything. 1, people don’t really go there to be promoted to, and 2, SO MANY people go there to do nothing BUT promote their stuff that it all ends up getting tuned out — the good with the bad (that said, I still promote stuff occasionally on the off chance that someone will be interested enough to click through, but that’s a small percentage of what I put out there).
The main purpose of Twitter is to just engage with people and build your community. The best way to do that is to avoid the Twitter website and instead use an app like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. Those let you set up feeds to follow only certain lists of people you want to hear from, or follow discussions on certain hashtags.
If you ever decide to give Twitter another go, I recommend checking out Kristen Lamb’s book, Rise of the Machines: Digital Authors in a Digital Age, as well as all of the Twitter-related posts on her blog. Just last week she did a great series on how authors can get the most out of Twitter.
Rebekah Loper
February 12, 2015 - 7:03 pm ·I’ve read Kristen Lamb’s book(s), and that was actually what finally convinced me to join Twitter in the first place. But after 3ish years… yeah, I’m just not impressed with that platform in particular.
I’ve tried both Tweetdeck & Hootsuite, as well, and they just don’t work well with my brain and the way I process information (for some reason, I don’t know why).
Mainly, though, I think I just felt invisible on Twitter unless I was posting 10x a day. And I just don’t have that in me.
Rebecca Enzor
February 12, 2015 - 7:25 pm ·I say go with what you enjoy. I have a FB page but I don’t like it so I rarely post there. I prefer G+ and Twitter, so that’s where I hang out most of the time. I don’t stress about it, and I’m glad you’re not going to stress out about Twitter anymore. It’s just not worth it!
Rebekah Loper
February 13, 2015 - 9:58 am ·I loved my facebook page when I first started it, and I got so much interaction there… and then FB changed all the news feed algorithms. And my interaction dropped 90%. It was depressing. So I just switched back to my personal FB and am simply making most things public now.
I don’t know that any social media is worth the stress, so, like I said, I’m just going to do what I like. 😀
I’m pretty sure everything will be more rewarding because of that, lol.
Lori L MacLaughlin
February 12, 2015 - 8:11 pm ·My blog posts are linked to Twitter, but other than that I haven’t used it. I can’t be on it that much, and trying to say something in 140 characters just doesn’t work for me. I’ve read that some people have great success with it, and every time I read something like that, I think I probably should be on it more, but I don’t think it will happen.
Rebekah Loper
February 13, 2015 - 10:01 am ·I would say trust your gut about Twitter. It’s what I’m wishing I had done a few years back. 🙂
Rechito
February 12, 2015 - 11:51 pm ·I know how you feel. With a career I just don’t have the time and since I’m already on Facebook I created a page which I’ll post on while I’m traveling but don’t plan on using any other social media.
Rebekah Loper
February 13, 2015 - 10:04 am ·The easiest thing to do with social media is branch out a bit at a time with things you already use! You’re on the right track. And don’t feel pressured by anyone, no matter the reason, for social networks that don’t seem to fit you. It’ll save you so much time later. 🙂
heylookawriterfellow
February 13, 2015 - 10:01 am ·I ‘ve been prodded by a lot of folks to start a Twitter account, but I just couldn’t do it. I barely have enough time to balance my blog and Facebook page with my personal writing.
Glad you found a way to simplify, my friend!
Patricia Lynne (@plynne_writes)
February 13, 2015 - 2:02 pm ·I enjoy Twitter but I don’t think it drives much traffic to my blog. When I was on a Twitter break but still blogging, my stats didn’t drop any. I stick with it mostly for the weekly chats.
Maria Zannini
February 13, 2015 - 4:23 pm ·Twitter isn’t a good fit for me. I’ve tried several times to interact but conversations are often stilted especially if it’s with people on the other side of the world, but mostly because I can’t stay online as long as others.
I feed my blog through Twitter and if anyone mentions me by name, Twitter lets me know and I’ll reply. Other than that, it’s just a conduit for automatic feeds.
Now Facebook is different. I get just as much interaction there as I do on my blog. As a matter of fact, some people prefer to leave comments there rather than my blog. Either way is fine with me. I’ll respond to both.
jazzfeathers
February 14, 2015 - 1:55 pm ·I’m the contrary than you: I hate FB, I don’t even have an account, and I love Twitter. Not because it drives traffic to my blog (in fact, it doesn’t, well, not much) but because of the engagement. I did a pitch party just yesterday, the build up to which took the entire week, and I really really enjoyed it.
For me, it’s the people you meet and the events happening all the time. I tried to promote some things (not books, since i don’t have any) and it didn’t work, so I stopped doing it and instead I concentrated on what I enjoy.
Other than my blog, Twitter is my favourite place online. I hang around other places (I like G+, for example), but Twitter is the one I enjoy the most. So I think you did well to choose. Fine, you choose I different thing than I did, but the main part is: if we don’t enjoy it, it won’t bring anything good to us.
Hugs, Kisses and Snot
February 15, 2015 - 2:23 pm ·Good for you for not feeling like you have to do something just b/c it seems like the thing to do. Do what works for you and trash the rest. I also have a love hate relationship w/ social media. I’ve often wondered what would happen to my blog if I quit it all together.
Rebekah Loper
February 15, 2015 - 2:34 pm ·It probably completely depends on how much of your traffic comes from search engines & other blogs. I won’t quit Facebook (no matter how tempting it sounds at times!) because I get well over 500 hits per year from there. I know several of my regular readers (who never comment) only read BECAUSE I post a link on Facebook.
Good luck with your social media, too. It can be so frustrating at times.
Hugs, Kisses and Snot
February 15, 2015 - 2:39 pm ·I agree w/ you on FB. I interact w/ a lot of readers there. I just get sick of what it does to people, how they seem to lose any sense of decorum or filter. Thankfully, I don’t see that from the fans on my page. Just an overall observation.
Lissa Clouser
February 16, 2015 - 7:51 pm ·Looking forward to next month and a sure-to-be-inspiring speech by a great man… this post made me think of something he said in his 2012 address that I listen to so often.
“There was a day when I looked up and realised that I had become someone who professionally replied to email, and who wrote as a hobby. I started answering fewer emails, and was relieved to find I was writing much more.” — Neil Gaiman
Replace ’email’ with ‘social media’. I believe some of it is necessary. We can’t truly be hermits anymore. But there is NO reason to stress ourselves and cause actual mental damage over something that is giving no substantial payoff. There just isn’t. Good choice. Participate only in the media right for you.
homedreamer07
February 16, 2015 - 9:16 pm ·I’m months, maybe years away from being a published author, but I still have a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with Facebook. Never got on Twitter. I say, great job for navigating these murky waters and getting published!