About the Book
In our current digital world, the internet puts every entrepreneur and creative artist smack dab in the middle of social media and marketing. With an online tsunami of informational how-to’s, deciding which methods work best challenges the best of us. In Social Media Strategies: Discover Powerful Tools of the Trade without Losing Your Soul, uncovers the most relevant techniques, skipping unnecessary fluff by going straight to up-to-date tactics and tips used by experts.
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One voice belongs to the Critic. This voice says, “Your friends or peers may not like your work? Worse, you know So-n-So will hate it!”
“Who do you think you are?”
“You could fail!”
“You’re putting yourself out there, why risk it?”
“You’re sloppy and lack analytical, time management skills.”
“Apologize ahead of time to those one-star readers you know are telepathically hating your words right now!”
The other voice belongs to the Encourager. This voice pushes you out of your comfort zones because you have that one reader in mind you want to help. This voice says, “Give words to lift their spirit.”
“Show them what you’ve learned so they don’t have to struggle like you did.”
“Help them see a better way.”
“Brighten their day and give them hope.”
“Provide practical information that’ll make their life easier.”
“Point them in the direction where peace and joy abide.”
We may begin with the Encourager, but it’s the Critic that stops us. It’s the Critic that paralyzes us with insecurity and inaction. And if we proceed with the Critic, we move with such caution we end up writing to the Critic instead for the Encourager. In fact, the Critic wrestles the pen out of our hand and so, we add disclaimers until our whole book is about placating the Critic.
We want the Critic to like us.
They won’t.
We want the Critic to see our good intentions.
They don’t care.
We want the Critic to know we understand.
He’ll only slap at our attempts, laugh in our face with pungent garlic breath, and still hate whatever we’re doing.
When I began writing my debut book about social media strategies, I wrote to help the struggling artist, writer, or entrepreneur take advantage of what’s available at their fingertips. I wanted to provide applicable information to improve their understanding and presence. My desire included helping them get ahead while also remembering where their true hope comes.
But that all changed when the Critic showed up.
Instead, I added disclaimers before every chapter, like:
“Hey, if you don’t like this stuff, I’m so sorry, just skip this chapter, in fact, just skip this whole book. K? So sorry. Hate that you don’t like social media. I know it sucks. It sucks, right? Like big time? I know. So sorry. Social media can be the devil’s spawn. I totally get it. No, really I do. I’m a worm for writing that it can be used for good. So sorry to bother you with this. Oh look, squirrel!”
Yeah, true story.
Thankfully, I stopped doing that. I edited and rewrote. I got back to work and penned my book for the Encourager.
The most important part of this book is the writing under the word “Strategies”. It states: “Discover Powerful Tools of the Trade without Losing Your Soul.” I’m a social media manager who spent years, blogging and feeling like my soul was sucked out by all the platform-talk that I was told to focus on.
Add to that, the Christian publishing industry heavily relies on the number of followers you have before taking a risk on you, to the point, your whole worth as an author, a person can get wrapped up in a number. Sheesh. The pressure to be popular and viral can be defeating.
Also, I taught classes to local small business owners and entrepreneurs on how to maximize their social media presence. Essentially, I encouraged them (as a consumer myself) that clients, consumers, and community can’t find you if they don’t know about you. So this is as much as service to potential clients and community as it is for their business. But I found many business owners were overwhelmed by the deluge of information regarding social media.
That’s where this book comes in. I wrote it to be a help to others, but especially to Christians who feel like their souls die a little more every time they try to tackle social media, platforms, and latest changes in the social media landscape.
When I first read the blurb about this book I knew I had to read it. I'm not usually big into non-fiction unless it is about history...BUT...I am a blogger and I have my own little jewelry making business that I've been trying to get off the ground. Social Media Strategies is exactly what I needed and I know that I will be referring back to it FREQUENTLY as I try to correct my mistakes and expand my reach.
The book is laid out in an easy-to-read format with lots of great information, stats, links to articles, and plenty of how-tos. Social media is an intimidating force for those of of us who are active online but are not tech gurus. T.H. Meyer did a great job breaking the information down into words that all of us can understand. In today's fast paced tech hungry world some explanations and simplifications are really nice.
Another interesting thing is that not only did she summarize what you learn at the end of each chapter but she also adds a page or two with about not losing yourself in the social media frenzy. This isn't really an issue for me but I know those spiritual reminders of who we are in God and our identities not being in a bunch of computer code will resonate with many people.
Social Media Strategies has some great practical advice and is surprisingly a pretty short and fast read. T.H. Meyer's advice will definitely help those wishing to navigate the frenetic world of social media.
by T.H. Meyer a 4 Bark rating.
T.H. Meyer’s writing has been featured in online magazines such as C’est La Vie: THE MAGAZINE and The High Calling along with guest posting for Amber C. Haines, Jennifer Dukes Lee, and at The Gift of Writing to name a few. Besides her current employment as a social media manager and content writer, she founded Outside the City Gates and worked as a creative director for the Sunday Circle Group, a worldwide collaboration of talented artisans, poets, photographers, speakers, and writers.
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She lives among Rye pastures on a farm in east Texas, far removed from big-city slickers. On any given day, eight resident ducks waddle under her bedroom window and quack like dogs when ready to eat. Her favorite pastimes are family, writing, juicy in-depth conversations, and unsweet tea. Connect on her blog Fear Not: Infusing Courage into Your Gifts & Talents, Facebook, or Twitter
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May 31: Karen’s Krayons
June 1: Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
June 2: History, Mystery and Faith
June 3: Blogging With Carol
June 4: Splashes of Joy
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June 6: Simple Harvest Reads
June 7: A Greater Yes
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