Social Media for Writers: a Talk with Kristin Lamb

One of the benefits of being a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association is that PNWA regularly emails you interviews they've conducted with authors. Below is an interview with Kristin Lamb, who is a social-media-for-writers mavin.

If you have questions or concerns about how to manage your social media presence (or about whether to even have a social media presence) in order to establish a platform, this interview will answer the basics. If you already blog, tweet, FB, etc., you probably aren't wondering about the basics, but you may want to know how to maximize your time and use of social media. Lamb answers those questions, too, some here, some in her book, We Are Not Alone, The Writer's Guide to Social Media. Personally, I think I could learn a few important things from it and am going to buy a copy. 

The interview is about twenty minutes long. If you're interested in the topic, it's well worth a listen. Here are a few of the points Lamb makes. 

• Blogs are the most powerful social media tool in your arsenal if you are a writer.
• The biggest part of any writer's platform is good books.
• Writers don't have to be on social media every hour of the day. Don't overpush it. That can be overkill and ineffective.
• Be on a couple of platforms (not all of them), and do meaningful activity, not just promote your book.  1/3: information (link to your blog, e.g.); 1/3 reciprocation—re-post for someone else; and 1/3 conversation, including the mundane aspects of everyday life to start a conversation
• Be kind, be authentic, be genuine, be funny if you can.
• As a writer, don't blog about writing. (uh, oh, I'm in trouble!)
• Don't program your tweets. Be there and be real when you use Twitter or people will be turned off.

Go here to listen to the interview.

So, what have you found to be most satisfying and most effective in your use of social media to build a platform as a writer?