Social Media 101 with Terry Kate

RHYS BOWEN:Last spring I heard Terry Kate speak at the Romantic Times convention. Everything she said was an eye opener for me. I had been mystified about how to improve my online presence so I grabbed Terry the moment she left the podium. She sat me down, called up my website and pointed out everything I should be doing. It all made so much sense that I asked her to become my web guru.
I'm happy to share her expertise with you today, so welcome to Jungle Reds, Terry. First question: What should writers be doing to improve their online visibility?

TERRY KATE: I think the first step is realizing what online visibility is. It goes beyond billboards, newspapers, and book store displays which are the physical options of the past. Online there are more elements that come into play and they are less obvious and more complicated than a neon sign pointing buyers your way. On the most basic level “visibility” covers how many places readers can be exposed to information about your work. The greater the coverage and availability of information the better your odds are in reaching your audience. Your website is the first tool towards increased visibility. Easy presentation of information to those visiting your site. All your other online efforts are to direct readers to more and better information at your site or Amazon or your publishers site.The more time a reader spends on these sites, seeing your covers, reading about you, or checking out reviews, the bigger the benefit since they will notice you and your name any time they come across it in the future.

RHYS: Okay, I've got a website and a blog. Where should I look for greater exposure?

TERRY: Your website and blog cover longer exposure to all of your information, but guest blogging is a great option as well. This reaches out to readers who follow that blogger and have been brought to a central hub by the other authors previously there. Once again make sure you are providing clear and useful material to readers every time you send out a post/interview/press release.Guest blogging may sound simple. “I write a post and give it to them.” but there are a number of factors and time saving approaches. Get help. - Recommendations from other authors where they had good results.- If you have worked with a blogger ask them who they know that might be a good match for you and your book.- Also ask amongst other authors if they need content for their personal or group blogs.There are no magic answers to what blog will be a good fit, but this gives you a starting point. The way blogs and guest blogging works is its own LONG discussion, but a quick mention for blog tours. This is a way of getting help, so look at what the different companies that offer to organize one for you are offering. Are you tossed into their machine with all the other authors regardless of genre? If you are paying them less than you make in an hour at your day job or what your time is worth, how much time are they spending?It all comes down to time. How much will you spend on the posts, interviews, responding to comments? You need to make every second count.
RHYS: Which ties into my next question about increasing visibility.... what exactly is SEO?
TERRY: Search Engine Optimization - The big scary statement that everyone sees and few know what exactly it means and what it does for you. In simplistic terms we use the Internet to find information. We Search. We want the best answer and Google wants to give it to us. SEO helps Search Engines find you. By setting the foundation every time you put something online it builds and begins to be noticed. 10 items online that are optimized are worth 100+ that are not. If you do not take some time and put some effort into learning online efficiency the work you are doing will be less effective. With SEO you can do less and have it work harder for you. Increased Visibility and SEO are NOT things to be afraid of. Someone who knows what they are doing can break this down for you. If they say it is Dark Witchcraft you will never understand that is not a good sign. SEO can be a great benefit. Traffic to your site/blog/book is usually the goal in the pursuit of online sales. So links to this information need to be where people can find them. The idea being to leave them like a trail behind you everywhere. Hence Social Medias roll in online promotion

RHYS: Ah yes. Social media. We could spent all day Facebooking, Twittering, doing Goodreads and Linked In. So why is social media so important these days? Do we writers really need to be active in this sphere?

TERRY: Friends buy your book, fans buy your book, readers who have interacted with you buy your book. Social Media is SOCIAL. In a million, voices calling out “Read my mystery.” Readers want to feel that you care about them. Then they will want to find out more. Tying back in to SEO and how visible other quality information is once you spark that initial interest.Social Media allows you to stay connected to readers and attract new ones. This does not mean hours of commitment - though that does not hurt - it means quality time. Develop relationships.- Comment/Reply on Twitter if someone is reading a book you have. TV show, movie, or food works too and chances are that person will look at your profile which should say “I’m an author...” and have a link leading to further information. - Be honest. “I write...Don’t tweet much, but always respond to Direct Messages(DM)” Readers know that you are there, but they understand if they want to connect they need to take the first step.- Make times where you ARE available. “I am on live every Friday morning and I love meeting new readers/writers.” Set aside that time to be social even if it is once a month.- These sites are also a faster way to post links than blog posts or website updates.

RHYS: All terrific info, Terry. So tell us a little about yourself and how you got into this?

TERRY: I came into publishing as a filmmaker and got caught up. I always read and then found out I liked to talk to authors. So I grabbed a camera, then started a web site, met other bloggers and publishers and listened. I ask tons of questions too.When I started there were a lot of tears. I was taken advantage of by designers, lost money on silly things and mistakes and then cried again as I painfully researched. The days while I learned code my boyfriend hid. I spent 12-16 hours a day and countless ones since learning how to do this better and how things work. I also created the Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference held every March and open to authors. Bloggers and Publishers work together so often now, it is important that we understand how the other operates. The hope was that if we educate from the top there will be trickle down to the other bloggers and from publishers to their authors. To prepare I spent hours talking to house publicists, marketing directors, small publishers and the big boys.How I ended up here? I desire to help people. I love books and appreciate the work that goes into writing them. So I want to help the writers, and I was taken advantage of too often. So I have thrown my hat into the ring with others to offer services through Paco Media Group http://pacomedia/group.com I will be on for the next few days to answer questions and respond to commentsOr email me at my primary account with questions romanceinthebackseat@gmail.com Thank you so very much for having me on!

RHYS: Thank you, Terry. And Terry will be stopping by to answer your questions.