Social media and personal brand building

As more and more people turn to self-publishing, there has been a correlative rise in the number of (largely) self-appointed "gurus"who offer their services or wisdom to help the uninitiated navigate the horrendous ravines of social media. God knows you can't possibly become an inbound marketer without social media, and God knows they are such a complex affair, y'all need some serious help. Right? Wrong! We here at EU feel that the basics of social media are rather common sense or intuitive, and in many ways, the tools are still relatively new enough that there are no true "rules" to be educated on. Read the "help" and "how to" sections and you are already off to a flying start. Guess what? You might make some small mistakes, but you are not Apple or Google; there is no furious CEO coming to your office. Learn, do not repeat mistakes, and move on. Get a feel for each tool, whether Facebook page, Twitter or Blog. You can readily measure the success or failure of each promotional post or attempt to draw in new followers, tweak your approach, and keep getting better. 

Rome was not built in a day, and neither are brands. As much as one gets turned on by stories of (apparent) overnight success of a book and personal brand, it is the exception not the rule. So ignore all those people bleating (not tweeting) at you about how to get a thousand new followers in a week, blah blah. EU has no intention of joining that gang: people who look very impressive in their number of followers, 10,000 or so, but when you look at how many they follow, it is 11,089. To us, it is meaningless and of little-to-no significance whatsoever. We would prefer 100 quality, engaged fans or followers than tens of thousands of so-called churners. If you had the necessary skills and persistence to write your own book, you have what it takes to take on social media and use them successfully. You don't need to create a fake following. 

Building of a personal brand takes time, and patience is required. We are in it for the long haul, and will go at it sure and steady, with our eyes focused on the bigger picture and the long term. Instant success is great, but it can be shakier than a brand built on rock solid foundations that were laid down over centuries. Ahem, okay, maybe not centuries, but it sure feels like it sometimes! ;) Have a great Spring Wednesday! - Cristina & Kevin Mc