The authors guide

to social media

m
by

J
Jacob Morgan
& Josh “Shua” Peters
If you’re reading this then you most likely
want to understand social media and how to
get involved. In fact, if you’re reading this
you are probably one step ahead of the game.
This ebook is designed to provide you with
some information about social media and
to explain how to use some of the tools and
platforms out there to build relationships and
create an online presence.
 The Landscape

According to Netpop Research, 76% of all U.S. broadband users actively con-
tribute to social media in some way. 29% contribute regularly to social net-
working sites. That equates to about 40,000,000 Americans that are using some
form of social media.

Per the Wave 3 Universal McCann report:

• 346 million read blogs/weblogs
• 321 million Read personal blogs/weblogs
• 184 million started a blog or weblog
• Blog Reading has risen 66% on a global scale in a year
• 60.3 million Americans have read a blog
• 36% of consumers think more positively about companies with blogs
• 32% of consumers trust bloggers opinions on products and services
• 160 million subscribed to an RSS Feed
• Social Networking has an estimated 272 million users
• 307 million visit a friends social network page
• 272 million manage a profile on a social network
• 43% of online consumers belong to a social network
• 74% of social network users message friends as part of their daily routine

Publishers, Agents, and other professionals utilize social media everyday to

connect to customers, fans, and like minded individuals. It can be utilized to
enhance the creative process by engaging others in conversation and create a
rich experience for fans when they are engaged. Now that you're aware of who
is using social media, let's move on to what social media is.
 What is Social Media?
To put it simply Social media is an ever growing collection of tools and plat-
forms that allow for communication and interaction between people. This inter-
action and communication can take the form of two friends sharing a photo or
millions of people chatting on a social network.

Social media was created out of peoples’ desire to find new ways to connect
with each other. Now we have social bookmarking, social commenting, social
networks, microblogging, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, social shopping, and so on.
The width and breadth of social media expands with every new idea that in-
spires people to connect and communicate. Slowly, businesses started to catch
on and realized that connecting and communication with their users was vital.
The various social media tools, ideas, and platforms can be adapted to fit almost
any business goal and objective.

As authors, publishers, and other literary agents you have a large talent pool
to work with and unlimited possibilities to enhance your product and create a
community around your words.

With the maturing of the internet and the growing acceptance and utilization
of social media your words can reach thousands of people in a matter of hours.
Your books and articles can be shared and posted across hundreds of social
platforms by your fans and new fans with new perspectives can be created by
empowering your community.
When Should I get
Involved?

The best time to get involved in social media was about a year or so ago.
The second best time is right now.

The world of social media is changing rapidly and the web as a whole is
getting more and more social. It's rapidly becoming a place where your
ideas and creations can be shared instantly with anyone anywhere. You
should get involved, today.

Why Should I get

Involved?
No longer are you bound by the limitations of publishing circles and bookstores
for people to hear your words. You can make just as big a splash if you live in
small town Kentucky as you can living in The Big Apple. You have more control
over your image and how you are perceived by the general public and by your
fans. If you want to come across as a genuine and honest person there are tools
that can be utilized to reach out and demonstrate those traits.

The days of needing a PR agent to cultivate your perception are fading. They're
not going to die, but their role and the role PR plays in your life is much more
in your control. With social media you can play the parts of PR, marketing, and
customer service on your terms and with your own voice.

Personal interactions make the difference.

 Where’s the Action?
The majority of social media takes place online, but as it has gained in popu-
larity people started to realize they could also use social media to collaborate
offline. Now you have social media club meetups, tweetups (meetups setup
using Twitter), conferences, and other offline activities that are all organized by
people online. These are great networking opportunities and can help solidify
online relationships or create new ones.

Using online/offline relationships can be used to mobilize your community to

have an impromptu book reading as a bit of fan service. There are great ways
to get your online community offline and really foster those great connections.
Face to face meetings are a great way to give back to your community by giv-
ing them even more of yourself. Book signings, open mic nights at a coffee
shop; anything you can think of to help you and your community can be setup
and organized through social media.
The Tools
Blog
An often personalized and public site that can serve as anything from a journal to
the face of corporate communications.

How to use it
Whether you are using your blog as a way to build community, interact with fans /
subscribers, or give updates about your company, a blog falls into three main cat-
egories. Self hosted, service hosted, or social network extension.

Self hosted is where you download a blogging platform like Word Press, install it
on a server, and then do all the design and theme maintenance manually. While it
does require the most work you also have the most control in terms of design and
customization.

Service hosted is a blog that is hosted by a specific host like WordPress.com so

there is no download or installation required. You loose some of your control over
how it looks, but it is very simple to find a theme you like, change some colors, up-
load a couple pictures and make it your own (you also don’t get your own domain,
meaning unless your host allows domain masking your site my look something like
this: http://www.author.wordpress.com).

Social network extension blogs are blogs that are appended to your social network
such as on MySpace or Red Room. These are severely limited and most don't allow
you to do anything other than write. Some don't even allow RSS subscriptions to
the blogs and restrict your viewers to users of that site.

We recommend going with the self hosted solution so that you can have complete
control over your domain name and the look and feel of your site.
RSS Reader
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. This ubiquitous orange icon is typically
what you would click on when you want to subscribe to a feed and see the updates
to a particular blog or site.

How to use it
The most widely used RSS reader is Google Reader located at Google.com/Reader
and just like any other Google service you do need a Gmail account to access it.
To add a feed first sign in to Google Reader then click on the upper left button that
says "Add a subscription" and enter the web address of the blog you want deliv-
ered or the URL of the blogs feed.

Alternately when you find a site you like just click on the orange RSS icon and
you'll have the option to add it to your Google Reader. Not only can you have
all your blogs sent to one location but you can also include any Google Alerts or
Twitter searches you create (covered below). A reader serves as a one stop infor-
mation aggregation station so instead of going to your favorite blogs individually
you can have all their content delivered to you.
Twitter
Twitter is considered a “micro-blogging” platform that allows you to find and con-
nect with other people while using 140 characters or less

How to use it
Twitter is one of the most powerful relationship building tools that exists. Twitter
allows you to instantly connect with your “followers.” Start off by creating a full
profile. Then use “twitter search” (see below) to find people to follow. When us-
ing twitter make sure you are unique and genuine, you may promote your content
sparingly but don’t overdo it otherwise nobody will want to follow you. Once you
find people that interest you, begin developing relationships. The main goal here
is to provide some sort of value to your followers while maintain a personable and
genuine approach.

Twitter Search
This is a tool that allows you to search twitter for keywords or phrases. Think of
this as a search engine for twitter.

How to use it
Search for phrases and keywords that interest you. This will allow you to find new
people to connect with and interesting discussions to follow. There are many other
authors and publishers on the net that you can build relationships with. Once you
have created a search you want to continually monitor just click on theRSS icon
and it will be continuously updated in your RSS reader.
Google Alerts
This tool allows you to set up alerts to track various keywords or phrases around
the net.

How to use it
Simply create an alert to track whatever keywords or phrases you find relevant. As
an author you would definitely want to track your name, your books, related top-
ics, etc. You will receive an email once a day with a list of sites that mention your
keyword or phrase, or if you prefer get it sent to your RSS reader (covered above).

Google Analytics
This tool gives you a lot of useful information in terms of your visitors. You can
find out how much traffic you’re getting, where you’re users are coming from,
what they are reading on your site, and more.

How to use it
All you do you is follow the Google analytics instructions which will most likely
ask you to paste a piece of code on your site to track your visitors. Once your site
is verified you are good to go. This analytics tools is great for tracking your prog-
ress online as you continue to build your online presence and will give you insight
into who is linking to you.
Facebook
One of the worlds largest social network that allows you to connect with people
friends and family or with people who share your passions, interests, or have simi-
lar backgrounds.

How to use it
After creating a profile you can play games, comment on others profiles, search for
old classmates or co-workers, join discussion groups and create your own group
or fan pages. The groups and fan pages serve as a point of contact and gathering
place for you and your community. Here you can post teasers, start up conversa-
tions, get feedback, answer questions and communicate with your fans in ways fan
mail never could. As an author you will most likely want to join “author” groups or
networks as well as connect with other authors and publishers.

Red Room
This social network is designed specifically for authors and their fans.

How to use it
Once you have created a profile you can meet other authors based on their subject
matter or they can be found by name. Search for other members in the members
section to learn more about fans and literary aficionados from their profiles. Many
writers host their blogs on Red Room and this allows them to reach a more targeted
audience.

However, Red Room is more limited in terms of customization capabilities when

compared to self hosted blogging options like Word Press. Just like with authors,
blogs can also be searched by person or topic. You also have the ability to upload
your videos and podcasts to Red Room. Another nice feature is the plainly dis-
played “Tips” section where you can get advice on how to market and promote
your Red Room account to the rest of the community.
Youtube/Viddler (video)
A search engine for videos. You can create and upload your own videos to share
with the world, or just search around and watch videos that other people have cre-
ated.

How to use it
These two sites, and several dozen others, are where you can upload promotional
videos, scout the competition or just kill a few minutes of down time. If you are
going to be uploading several videos create your own channel on the site so fans or
potential fans can find all your content easily. After uploading a video anyone can
leave a comment for you. While you may receive a few comments that might seem
reminiscent of a junior high hallway; look for the ones that offer sincere feedback.
The comments worth replying to will stand out so just watch for quality compli-
ments and criticism.

The videos you create here can also be embedded in your blog or social network
profile of your choice (go to their respective help sections for detailed information
on how to do this). Scott Sigler has been using Youtube to create trailers for his
books. Collectively, his trailers have been viewed over 30,000 times. Check out
Scott Sigler’s YouTube Channel.

Scribd
Upload, edit, and find documents for free.

How to use it
Create a profile and upload any documents you want to share. Views, downloads,
likes, comments, and favorites stats are plainly displayed on the page so you can
see how popular the document has been. This can be used for anything from post-
ing up a teaser to your next book to providing a free downloadable short story as
a fan bonus. The settings for the documents (like if they can be downloaded or
not) are easily set and Scribd serves as a great way to get your writing out to other
people.
Delicious
This is an online bookmarking service that you can use to save interesting website/
pages.

How to use it
Whenever you come across something that you feel is valuable for yourself or oth-
ers (or perhaps you just don’t have time to read something and want to get back
to it later) you just add the URL to your Delicious account. You can then share the
link to your delicious account with your friends or readers. It's also a great way to
organize information and tag it for easy reference.
Thank You for Your Time
We hope that this ebook has provided you with valuable information and insight
into the dynamic field of social media. After reading this you should have a good
understanding of why social media is so popular and important. You should also
have a good foundation and understanding of some of the social media tools out
there and how they can be used to build relationships and market yourself. While
this ebook provides a general overview of some popular social media tools there
is a lot more that remains to be discussed in terms of creating specific strategies to
fit your needs.

The important thing to remember is that people are always going to be talking
about you, your company/brand, or your products. Social media gives you the
opportunity to listen and become a part of the conversation. Remember, “Be Cre-
ative and Be Clever.”

If you have any questions or are interested in a client relationship please

email us or visit oursites:
Jacob: Jacobmorgan8@gmail.com - Building Relationships Through Social
Media Marketing and SEO
Josh: shua@shuaism.com - Shuaism: Social media musings, news, and re-
views
 About the Authors

Jacob Morgan
I am a schemer and idea catalyst by nature, hence my passion and love for chess
(among many things). I am the co-founder and principal of Mighty Mouth Media,
a social media consultancy and also run a team of Technical SEOs. Previously
I was the CMO/founder of a start-up in the social media space and prior to that
I worked on creating online marketing and search strategies for brands such as
Adobe, Conde Nast, Sandisk and Salesforce. I am an avid and passionate blogger
on all things social media and marketing related (I hope you become a reader!). I
love meeting and building relationships with people so say hello and let me know
if I can help you. Google my name “Jacob Morgan,” and you will find me (I’m the
first result), stop by my site and connect with me.

Be sure to connect with me on: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Josh “Shua” Peters

I’ve spent over 2 years researching and studying the social media scene and excit-
edly watched it grow and matured in to the entity we know it as today. This com-
munication medium fascinates me to no end and my wife often refers to herself as
a social media widow (but has now started her own blog). I'm currently part of a
social media startup known as RoyalAnts where I'm the director of online market-
ing and social media strategies. I’m also the principal of Shua Consulting where
I’ve worked with clients like Symantec, Qwest, and more. My personal blog is
at Shuaism.com where not only do I discuss the ideas, methods, and tools behind
social media and internet marketing, but also provide a full list of ways to stalk me
online. Please stop by, leave a comment, and join the conversation, I'd love to hear
from you.

Be sure to connect with me on: Twitter, FaceBook, or LinkedIn.

Thank you for your time and we hope you enjoyed this guide to getting started with social media!
 Resources to Stay Up to Date

Blogging

• Copyblogger
• Problogger
• Blogging.alltop.com

Social media strategy and ideas

• Building Relationships Through Social Media Marketing and SEO (Jacob

Morgan)
• Shuaism (Josh Peters)
• Altitude Branding (Amber Naslund)
• Chris Brogan
• KD Paine
• Scott Monty
• Social Media Explorer (Jason Falls)
• The Viral Garden (Mack Collier)
• Sociamedia.alltop.com

What’s going in Social Media

• Read Write Web

• Mashable

Photo Credits:
Writing Words by Star Dust Vancouver Bank Clock by JMV Blog Icons by ~grevenlx
Thank You by PSD Welcome by Tim2K