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Category: Social Media

Optimizing XTwitter, Twitter Stream, offsite connections, visual elements, Twitter followers, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, Demystifying Twitter, metrics, verbal elements, Amazoncart debuts, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, metrics, verbal elements, Bruins denounce Twitter hate, Twitter bigots, lost dogs, using Twitter to track, Shift in Twitter Trends

Optimizing X

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 10, 2026

Time to Start Optimizing X

Now that you are on it, it is time to start optimizing Twitter AKA X. And please keep in mind: a lot of what I am talking about where will work perfectly well on Bluesky and many other platforms. But Bluesky in particular.

After all, the same people made them both.

Using Lists for Optimizing X

What are lists on X?

You may have noticed people who have a rather different follower to following ratio than you do. What do I mean by that?

For instance, say you follow 100 people. And 1000 people follow you. The ratio of follower to following is 100:1000, or 1:10. This is fantastic.

Celebrities often have ratios that look like this, or even better, where they might be following 100 accounts but there are 100,000 people following them. Or more!

Newbies often end up at the other end of the spectrum, with 1000 people they are following and 100 are following them, for 10:1.  If you want to just read for the most part, this is perfectly fine, except it tends to not mark you as a thought leader.

Celebs and Optimizing X

Now, most people do not sit down and calculate ratios. But they do glance at profiles.

Someone like soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, might be following some 200 people but he is followed by over 100,000,000. Hence people will really notice if he starts following them.

Does he (or any other celebrity, major or minor) have a sparse news feed? Probably not. Because he might be using lists.

Go to the profile of someone you want to follow but, instead of hitting follow, tap or click the more icon (the three dots), and select Add/remove from Lists.

Your lists will show up, and you can add someone to several at a time, or make a new list. You can even decide whether you want your list to be public.

Go to your own profile (e. g. click on your profile rather than your settings) and you will see whose lists you are on.

Why use a list rather than follow? You can still see that person’s tweets in your feed, but your ratio will not change. Furthermore, a public list tells everyone what you are interested in. How about lists for indie authors, agents, or publishers?

You can also follow lists made by other people. Maybe someone will find yours to be definitive and will follow it.

Who to Follow

Well, who should you follow on X?

Sometimes you want to publicly follow someone, rather than add them to a list. So long as you keep these people special, then this is perfectly great. I have tended to keep friends as open follows and anyone more business-related on lists. But you may prefer otherwise.

Follow fellow indie writers (this is a community, after all), or publishers, or agents. Consider who can help you, and who you can help, and follow accordingly.

How to #Hashtag

What is a hashtag, and how do you make one that is not lame?

A hashtag is a means of searching on X. Hashtag something as, say, #amwriting, and click on that, and it leads to a slice of X of everyone who used that hashtag. But beware hashtags do not look good if you use a ton of them.

Do not just indiscriminately hashtag! Also, keep them short.

#ILovePuppiesAndDolphinsAndUnicorns is probably not going to be something used by anyone else, or at least not that frequently. But #ILovePuppies is pretty popular.

Experiment by searching before you hashtag. Beware, your innocent-looking hashtag might already be coopted for an unexpected usage. Just do a search on #NeverForget or #IStayedBecause and you will know what I mean.

Does X Still Matter Enough That You Should Still Want to be Optimizing it?

Hard to say. But only you know your audience or readers. According to Sprout Social, the ratio of male-female X users is something like 2:1. The generation that dominates is Gen Z. So, keep in mind: Gen Z people are born between 1997 and 2012.

Are they the ideal market for your book? It depends. For a generational cohort where a good half or so of them are right around in the wheelhouse where it feels like everyone they know is getting married, having kids, or both, then a book for children could be ideal.

Or maybe books with young main characters out to change the world or destroy it would work better. Hard to say. Just because X is mainly male does not mean they never buy for children.

But some of them might want to continue publicly demonstrating how cool they are. Leaning into that with your marketing might work better.

Takeaways for Optimizing Twitter AKA X

Consider your peers. Who do you love to follow and read? In contrast, who seems like they are not trying too hard? Of course, if you want to start optimizing X, you should copy what the former does, versus the latter.

Want to see more from me, on writing, and the business of being an independent author? Click here to add my site as a preferred source.

Want More About X AKA Twitter?

If my experiences with X resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts about X.

While it has changed considerably over time, a lot of these tips will still work. And often they will work with other social media platforms as well.

Almost Everything But the Tweet

• Starting a Twitter Stream
† Demystifying Twitter/X
• Twitter, Social Media and Professionalism

† Conquering X/Twitter (verbal elements)
• Conquering Twitter/X (visual elements)
† Twitter/X (metrics and timing)
• X/Twitter (offsite connections)

And, if you are a fellow writer, you may also want to check out:
† PitMad on Twitter/X

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X, Social Media and ProfessionalismTwitter, Twitter Stream, offsite connections, visual elements, Twitter followers, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, Demystifying Twitter, metrics, verbal elements, Amazoncart debuts, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, metrics, verbal elements, Bruins denounce Twitter hate, Twitter bigots, lost dogs, using Twitter to track, Shift in Twitter Trends

X, Social Media and Professionalism

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 8, 2026

What is the Connection Between X, Social Media and Professionalism?

Professionalism? This post riffs on Be careful who you hire to manage your business’ Twitter account, a post on Social Media Today. Since the original post is from 2011, it’s not 100% relevant anymore. But I still think the ideas are of value.

And yes, we all know it was once called Twitter so that explains my URL and their title and URL as well.

In addition, in the original article, the author talks about, essentially, how to tell whether a particular feed is being handled professionally, or not. Hence following are their “5 Points to consider before hiring a service to manage your Twitter account.”

Professionalism: Check Their X Stream

1. First of all, before you even look at the different tools for measuring an X user’s level of influence (which can be misleading and in some cases manipulated) you firstly need to check the individual’s own X stream.

† What type of language do they use? – agreed. Because branding involves, among other things, speaking the language of your customers.

Are you a hip hop record label? A travel agency catering to retirees? A diamond jeweler? All of these businesses have different customer demographics.

Hence there is no “one size fits all” here. However, this does not mean people cannot adapt to communicate properly with everyone they do business with. After all, you need not hire a child to market to children.

But any Social Media Specialist needs to get the message across so that the target readership is receptive.

Lazy Messaging

• Do they spam their own followers by sending lazy messages? For example: #FF @Xuser1 @Xuser2 etc. Still, I am not so sure I call this spamming. I think, at times, it can useful to do this. At least, a little bit?

But overdoing it (and you will instantly know it is overkill if tweets (I still call them tweets. Don’t you?) like this, or quickie retweets, dominate the stream) is definitely not a good way to do business.

† How do they use their own account? Is it professional or sloppy? Do they send messages late into the night and have no professional boundaries? Do they over mix professional with personal messages? – agreed.

And with useful tools such as HootSuite, you can schedule messaging. A manager never needs to be up late and working in that manner.

There is no excuse for late night messaging, and no need for it. But if a stream is meant to engage internationally, it might be a good idea to split it up into more than one account, so that one stream is for North America and another for Asia.

Messaging

• Are their own messages all over the place so you are not able to pick up a clear message? – this is a good point, and not just when it comes to X. A clear message is key – for a robotics company where I worked, the message centered around sales.

Messages promoted education and/or robots. NASA, for example, was only mentioned in the context of robotics, not in the context of space launches. There is a lot of information out there.

Consider it to be a bit like a garden. Usually it needs weeding and thinning, as opposed to fertilizing.

† Furthermore, do they acknowledge where they take their material from or just duplicate what they see their competitors do? – ah, this is big. It is why I still list the original source for this article. And it is a big part of how the internet works, or at least is supposed to.

You post a blog entry. A competitor sees it. If they riff on it and post it and give you a link back, then that is good for you. And you thank them and do the same in reverse and yeah, they are still a competitor. But you have common ground and in some areas you can cooperate.

This is still true in the age of AI, I might add.

Or they don’t acknowledge you. And everybody digs their heels in and the world becomes a slightly more miserable place. Hey, you make the call, but I prefer cooperation pretty much every time, myself.

Too Much Self-Promotion?

• Do their messages make any sense to you or are they just full of self promotion? Do they hold no real value other than grooming their own ego? – true, but I think sometimes this can come from social media marketing folk not being properly trained.

If the marketing manager is unsure of how much promotion should be mixed in with information, the marketer might be similarly confused.

† How much negativity comes across in their stream? – not everything is or should be positive, but I do get this. The idea is, well, are you promoting to people who want to buy your company’s organic brownie mix? Or do you just sound petulant and whiny?

However, you can sometimes be too perky. But I think if there are errors in this area, they should probably fall on the side of more, rather than less, perk.

Professionalism: Which Business Accounts Do They Manage?

2. Ask for the name of one of the business accounts they manage, and go through this with a fine tooth comb. Keep an active eye on the account and monitor how they manage the business’ online profile.

• How many messages are there and what type do they send? – it is a quantity and a quality game on X. You need to get across some seven or more views before people start to consider buying.

And consider X’s international, 24/7 appeal – people may be checking your messaging out at 4 AM your time.

This, by the way, goes against an earlier statement about the marketer not adding content into the wee hours. No, they should no – but unfortunately, sometimes, that is when the readers are online.

After all, if you are making content for people playing World of Warcraft, they may be on at 4 AM. As for quality, that goes along with the above statements as well – are the messages worthwhile, or are they dull self-promotion?

Engagement

† How do they engage with the client’s audience? – some of this is in the form of retweeting. Retweeting and replying have a place, as it is a give and take type of engagement. Is there professionalism behind the engagement?

• And how is the call-to-action placed and worded? – this is fairly self-explanatory. There is a difference between what looks like a hard sell, and what has more of a friendly “Hey, check this out” vibe.

Does the marketer know the difference? And is the difference readily apparent in messaging?

† In addition, do the articles relate to the client’s industry and audience? – this harkens back to my NASA example above. Content is necessary, of course, but irrelevant content is worse than no content at all.

Because it is better that the marketer pump out less content if it is not relevant, yes?

Any SEO or AI SEO will tell most companies that they have too much content, rather than not enough. So, cut out the fluff, already!

• Do they add any value? – the $64,000 question! Can you tell without having access to measurement tools?

Professionalism: References

3. Ask for a number of references and call them. This, of course, is excellent advice any time you are hiring.

† How has the business level of influence grown? For sure if they cannot achieve this for themselves, then they cannot do it for the client. – try objective measurements if you can get them, like Google rankings, bounce rate, etc.

• What have been the benefits? – only your industry will have the specifics for this. Increased sales may or may not be the actual benefit.

After all, sometimes social media is used for damage control. If that can happen more efficiently and inexpensively – that might be the benefit.

† What difference has it made to your online brand? – again, this is a specific question.

• How good is the level of communication? – hard to say what this means without context. After all, the car dealer and the online cancer support group will have different needs in this area.

† What results has the business seen? – again, objective measurements are best, whatever you can get.

Professionalism: Metrics

4. Ask what X measuring tools they use to provide their clients with monthly reports. Do they use anything else to measure how things are working (or not)?

• While there are some good free tools around, they do not come close to paid analytical tools for managing X and other social media accounts. – agreed, but sometimes that is how things go, particularly if the person you are considering has worked for startups or nonprofits.

†Ask what recommendations they have made to the client that have enabled the business to grow based on the findings. – these should be in whatever reports the person under consideration provides.

Professionalism: Time

5. Finally, ask how much time they intend to spend on your account over the week.

• How will this time be managed with all their other projects? – this is a good question for any sort of a freelance or offsite working relationship.

† What elements of account management does this breakdown in to? – again, this is not confined to social media. Rather, it is a good question for any potential employee who will be working remotely, or not exclusively with you.

• How will they keep you informed and up to date with relevant messages and conversations? – reports? Emails? Something on Slack or Teams? What is manageable and relevant?

Professionalism: My Own Ideas

And now a few of my own when it comes to professionalism.

† What do the messages look like? Are they interesting? Relevant? Grammatically correct within the character limit? Or are they just slight variations on a theme?

• Do all provided links work, or do they go to dead ends? And do the links have any sort of measurement behind them, even simple click metrics? Do they lead to generic pages, or to any custom landing pages for X users? Can you get metrics and attribution from them?

† What is the follow/follower ratio? Does the person follow everyone, or are they, at least seemingly, a bit choosy in this area? We all know that junk follower accounts exist – does the prospective hiree even follow those or seem to use auto-follow?

More Ideas on Professionalism and X

• So how often does the person send a message? Daily? Monthly? A monthly X stream is barely this side of useful. Messages need not come every five seconds. But it is a fluid, evolving medium and needs more attention than that.

† How do they handle the controversial things that Musk gets up to? Even a community solely devoted to politics might want to sit out at least some of those shenanigans.

And finally, and this is a question for the person (and you may not get an accurate answer, by the way), does the person under consideration actually like what he or she is doing?

Do they have a passion for it? Or is it, like, Time to make the doughnuts?

I am not saying that we can (or should) always love what we do. But plenty of people love doing this. Why not hire someone who does?

Finally, you can get a passionate Social Media person, to handle your Twitter stream, do your blogging, manage your online community, promote your Facebook page and more. And they will do it with professionalism and aplomb.

We really do exist.

Want to see more from me, on writing, and the business of being an independent author? Click here to add my site as a preferred source.

Want More About Twitter AKA X?

If my experiences with X resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts about this still misunderstood microblogging platform.

While it has a newish name, and has changed considerably, a lot of these tips will still work. And they will often work with other social media platforms as well.

Almost Everything But the Tweet

• Starting a Twitter Stream
† Demystifying Twitter/X
• Verbal Elements on X
† Visual Elements on X
• Optimizing Twitter/x
† Metrics and Timing on X
• Offsite Connections from X

And, if you’re a fellow writer, you may want to check out:
† PitMad on Twitter/X

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Social Networking/Social Media Tips

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 1, 2026

Social Networking/Social Media Tips

Social media tips? Yes, please! A while back, Grassroots Giving Group published some great social networking tips. I agreed with their ideas but would like to expand upon them a bit.

And they were essentially exploring when Facebook and Twitter (X) are useful. Here are some of their ideas.

Social Media Ideas

Here are a few quickie ideas.

Announcements

Never just announce upcoming or new things but also add links in order to drive traffic. Agreed! However, I would add a targeted landing page. Below is an example:

If you have people coming in from Facebook, why not create a new landing page to personally welcome them (e. g. Welcome to our Facebook Friends!). The best part about that is that, since it is a separate page, Google Analytics will track the clicks separately.

You have a fighting chance of getting good metrics, so you will know whether your announcement of the opening of a new branch of the Widget Factory played better on Facebook or on X.

Sending shortened website addresses on X – use an URL shortener. Of course! But why not use one (such as from HootSuite) where you can get some click metrics?

Using both a personalized landing page and a URL with click metrics can give you an even clearer idea of how traffic flows.

Oh, and they do not tell you why you should shorten an URL on X (even if the URL fits). But I will. It is to make it easier for people to retweet.

Social Media Tips on Planning

Here are some tips for better planning.

Planning in Advance

There is nothing new here. You should keep up with things and plan in advance. Absolutely. And that means, when you are hot and creative, write, write, write!

Keep drafts and ideas going, and also think about how you can expand on your own blog entries or those by others (such as this blog entry).

Get yourself a stable of other blogs and blog writers, news sources, etc. Who inspires you? Who interests you? But never repeat or steal, of course. Rather, expand and comment. These are perfectly legitimate ways to update your blog.

This Day in History

Commemorate occasions in your company! There must be something you have done that is good blog fodder. Of course, not every day is memorable, but it is another way to keep the pipeline going.

If July 12th is an important day in your organization, make sure that the July 12th blog post and Tweets are ready to rock and roll, and they are updated to the correct year.

Heck, in HootSuite (for example), you can schedule messaging. Why not schedule your content for July 12th (or whatever your special day just so happens to be) and be done with them?

Quotes

They said, “Quotes!”

Quote Collection

I like this idea, and I think it can be used for a lot of purposes. This is not only quotes about your specific organization or its work, but even more generalized quotations.

Surely there is something from Shakespeare (“My kingdom for a horse!”) or the Bible that could work for you in some capacity or another. It can be another jumping off point for creativity.

Ask Your Audience Questions

I think this is more useful if you have a somewhat large and actively commenting readership. While a rhetorical question is lovely, I think it is just better if you can get at least a little feedback. Otherwise, it feels like you are just shouting out to the wilderness.

Staff Introductions

This is another great idea. While your site might already have staff biographies, that is another way to get the readership acquainted with who is making the product.

Notes From Your Day

I do not know about this one. Your day, maybe. Mine? I guess this is, in part, centered around the event reviews I used to do back in the day. But otherwise, my days in the past were spent, well, here, blogging. And now I spend them at work. All of which may or may not be thrilling to others.

But I can see where my peers could have some very interesting days.

Social Media Tips: Takeaways

So there you have it. Some pretty amazing social media tips for getting and keeping things going. And, while the post was not, specifically, about blogging, it rings very true for that very specific – and sometimes challenging and elusive – task.

Oh, and you may also want to learn what the best lengths are for social media posts.

Finally, many, many thanks to the Grassroots Giving Group.

For more information, see the December 16, 2010 edition of Grassroots Giving Group.com blog.

Want to see more from me, on writing, and the business of being an independent author? Click here to add my site as a preferred source.

Want More About Social Media and Tips on How to Best Use It?

If my experiences with non-platform-specific social media resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other articles about navigating our social media obsessed world.

Social Media in Our Society

† Social Media Continues its Relentless Pace
• Social Media’s Seduction AKA Oops, Did I Do That?
† Social Media Background Check Being Used For Jury Selection
• How Social Media Can Ruin Your Life

Working with Social Media

† A Day in the Life of a Social Media Marketer
• Four Important Social Media Stats
† Jell-O on the Wall: Social Media Perfection is Fleeting

Social Media for Writers

• The Power of Social Media (Neurotic Writers’ Edition)
† Social Media and Writing
• Social Media and Writing Part 2
† Social Media and Writing Part 3
• Are You Promoting Your Writing With Social Media?

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Book Review – Likeable Social Media by Dave KerpenBook Reviews, Killer UX Design, Content Nation by John Blossom, SEO Made Simple, Lee Odden, Dave Kerpen, Liana Evans, dummies, cluetrain manifesto, shama hyder kabadi, Numerati, Guerilla Marketing, White Space, Clay Shirky, Trust Agents, Kristina Halvorson, Stephen King, Zen, William Zinsser, Drupal for Dummies, Executive, XHTML, Communicating Design, Joshua Porter, Strategic Planning, Google Advertising Tools, Web Analytics, Right Hook, David Meerman Scott, web analytics, Revved Up, robot building, Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff, style guide, elements,

Book Review – Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on August 6, 2026

Let’s Review Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen

Dave Kerpen has a rather interesting book here. This book is thoroughly likeable, if you will.

Likeable Social Media

This book was required reading, as a part of my Community Management class at Quinnipiac University.

And it made for an excellent read.

For Kerpen, a lot of social media success comes from listening to, and then surprising and delighting customers and potential customers. Are your posts what they are interested in? If you received this post, would you bother clicking on it?

Case in point for surprise and delight

In May of 2015, my husband, parents, and I went to a Mexican restaurant in my parents’ town. We had eaten there before, but not so much that they knew our names or our usual orders or the like.

My husband and I did not visit my parents too often. And he visited them even less than I did. To the restaurant, even if my parents were repeat customers, my husband and I surely did not look like repeats.

There was a short wait until we got our food. Without prompting, we received a little appetizer, which mainly consisted of little breaded and fried mashed potatoes, configured a bit like sticks. There were three bits of sauce in different colors.

The potatoes and sauce, most likely, were leftover odds and ends. It may have taken the chef all of ten minutes to make the dish. I did not see anyone else getting the appetizer. We thanked the server. The appetizer tasted good.

They served us our food, and you would think that would be the end of it. But it was not. We did not order dessert. Yet we received a plate of flan and four spoons anyway. No one asked us. We just got the flan (it tasted really good). We were not charged for either little extra.

These twin activities impressed us, so much so that I have even linked back to the restaurant. Win-win!

Surprise and delight your customers. Or, as I would like to say, where’s the flan?

Being Likeable

By no coincidence, Kerpen named his company Likeable Media. From its positive name to its obvious association with Facebook, the book and the company are all about creating positive and meaningful experiences for customers and potential customers.

Kerpen begins with listening and with careful, accurate, and specific targeting. For example, not all women in their 50s or 60s and beyond have the same interests. He strongly urges marketers to dig deeper.

He also encourages them to have empathy for their customers. Is a post interesting? Would it be welcome to the customer base?

The first fans should be preexisting customers, with perks for the really rabid fans. Another skill to master: engaging in a true dialog.

This means not just accepting praise, but also effectively and expeditiously responding to complaints. It also means owning up to your mistakes when you make them.

Honesty

Kerpen advocates authenticity, honesty and transparency in dealings, and promoting an exchange by asking questions, which goes right back to listening. From listening, comes the surprise and delight.

Did the restaurant hear us complaining about slower than normal service? Possibly. The appetizer and the flan certainly helped to quell those complaints and win us over.

Because he is talking about social media (and not restaurant service), Kerpen’s flan moment does not just cover coupons and offers. It is also the sharing of stories as social capital.

Some of this includes stories of the company (e. g. how a product was invented that spawned an industry). But it also encompasses the stories of the customers themselves.

Imagine being a soft drink company and asking customers who drank your soft drink during their first date to share their love stories? Attach this promotion to Valentines’ Day and maybe even ask a couple about their future plans…

Finally, rather than hard selling, Kerpen exhorts marketers to simply make it easy to buy. Good products and services will always have customers. Generally, you do not need to massage demand. But you do need to make it easier for customers to open their wallets.

A terrific, breezy read, well worth your time.

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Rating for the Book and for Dave Kerpen Himself

5/5 stars

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Facebook versus Forums

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on July 2, 2026

What hath Facebook wrought? – It’s a Facebook versus forums smackdown!

It is Time to Pit Facebook Versus Forums

Facebook, as anyone not living on a desert island knows, is a juggernaut of massive proportions. According to Oberlo, Facebook has over three billion users, and about 61% of global social media users—and these numbers are only climbing.

When it comes to parent company Meta (they also own Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, …), there are nearly four billion monthly active users.

Almost 54% of Facebook users identify as female. And, surprise surprise for anyone who thought it was just a platform for the (ahem) older set: nearly 62% of Facebook users are under the age of 45.

In 2026, that means people born in 1981 and later, AKA Gen X and later generations.

In contrast, according to Worldometers, 1.477 billion people live in India, and 1.413 billion live in China. Vietnam has a bit over 102 million in population. Laos has about 8 million.

Hence, Facebook usage is the entire population of India + the entire population of China + the entire populations of Vietnam and Laos. If these numbers do not blow you away, then check your pulse.

It is the 800 pound gorilla of the internet. And it is rapidly changing our interpersonal interactions, both on and offline. So, one of those areas is in the area of internet forums.

Facebook Versus Forums Sites Like Able2know

Facebook hits all forum sites and not just A2K. For years, I have been seeing drop off on a lot of different sites. It does not seem to matter whether they are large, generalized places like Able2know, or small niche sites devoted to something like Star Trek.

In addition, I hear about this same kind of drop off in other areas. Facebook has its fingers in a lot of pies, and it is only trying to get into more and more of them.

The truth is, Facebook has taken over certain niches which forums or smaller sites have tried to claim.

Such as class reunions. Why go to a separate website and register (or even pay!) when your buddies are all or nearly all on FB anyway? Why not just make a group devoted to the reunion and divvy up the labor?

Using Facebook to market your crowdfunding (it could be to bring an invention to market or pay for your dog’s eye surgery or help out a friend who lost everything in a house fire) is a no-brainer.

Looking for a bone marrow donor? Sure, go through the proper channels and the registry. But why not boost the signal by posting it on Facebook?

Everybody get in the Pool

So there are two generalized kinds of interactions (there are more, of course, but hear me out, okay?). One concerns the shallow end of things. You trade information about weather and generalized health inquiries. It’s political sound bites and the zippy pop song.

And much of what I have outlined above, like looking for a bone marrow donor, is mostly going to be the quick, shallow end of things. You are a yes or a no. You send a care react and maybe you repost. But you are not elbows deep in it. You are only pinkies deep, if that.

The other side of things is deeper. Because here is the in-depth political discussion where you really get to the heart of the issues. It is the detailed information on a health condition or even how to make a soufflé or plant an herb garden. It is the symphony.

And online, just like offline, it is a far rarer bird.

For you need time to develop that kind of trust. Furthermore, truly, you have to devote some time in order to have such a conversation in the first place.

In our bone marrow example, you can often find communities of like-minded individuals on Facebook. A small, private group may be able to help with more than a signal boost and expressing their concern. But that is a small bit of the vast sea that is Facebook.

Swimming with Facebook

Facebook fulfills the shallow end of online interactions extremely well. It is very, very easy to catch up on a superficial level with high school classmates or the like. A Star Wars groups, for example, might ask basic questions like “Who was the best villain?”

George Takei has mastered these kinds of interactions (although, in all fairness, he also writes occasional longer notes). Because these constitute the quick hits that people can like and share, all in the space of less than a quarter of a minute.

It works very well for mass quantities of information. And, in a way, this is why Reels and TikTok are so massive. They are quick hits.

Facebook versus Forums – Where Facebook Wins

Topics about a favorite song go better on Facebook than on forums as they are a quick hit and posting YouTube videos is simple. It is colorful and, just as importantly, it is pretty easy to pick and choose when it comes to interactions there, despite changes in privacy settings.

Other basic interactions (remember a/s/l?) are seamless or do not need to happen at all. Partly this happens due to the Facebook real names policy. Also, more people tend to use their real photograph and their real (generalized) location and age than not.

But there are also always going to be people who are going to check. Or they are just plain being nosy. For some, it may even be a poorly-conceived cover for transphobia. E. g. are you really female?

Facebook versus Forums – Where Forums Can Still Win

But what Facebook does not do so well is the deeper end of interactions (the extensive political discussions, etc.). Also, it often does not do them well for a larger group of people or over a significant period of time or for a longer or wider discussion.

And apart from a small group of people fighting the same medical battle (on their own behalf, or a loved one’s), there are not a lot of occasions for the long-term, deeper talk.

As a result, just about all of the deep discussions go unsaid. Topics about elections outside the United States (particularly if Americans participate in said topics) are handled poorly, if at all.

When it comes to the deeper end of the interactions pool, Facebook is just not a good place for that at all. Another consideration: even now, a lot of people still find that Facebook moves too quickly for them.

Swimming with Forums

For the deep end, it makes sense to collect into forums. You need to get to the heart of the matter. And that takes time, a luxury that Facebook often does not afford, as it scrolls by in a blur.

Instead of mass quantities, forums can fulfill a very different niche by instead concentrating on quality interactions. Forums offer, even for people who use their real names and are fairly transparent about their interactions, a chance to use a persona.

This is because Facebook far too closely parallels to our real lives. There is just so much posturing you can do about being a famous rock star when your high school cronies are also there, and they remember holding your head when you had your first beer.

Again, the best way that Facebook even attempts to emulate this is in groups. But if you are using the same login, you will be found out. You get no chance to put on a persona hat, even for a moment. The jig is immediately and irrevocably up.

The Endless Online Christmas Brag Letter

And Facebook, while it can be a refuge for people to truly show they care for each other (in particular, in the groups, or using notes or chat), is more often a place where people instead get a chance to preen and show off.

Like something? Then hit like! Don’t like it? Then either scroll past it or click to hide it, or even report it as spam or as being threatening.

Hell, you can even @ a tag group to comment on it.

And apart from the latter two actions, the person posting the image, anecdote, status, etc. is none the wiser when it comes to your reaction, particularly if there are a lot of reactions.

If you have a million reactions on a post, and 150,000 of them are anger reactions, how do you know your old college roommate was one of those people? Unless you have the patience and the hyperfixation to check, you are never going to know.

But with the forums, even if you do not use your real name, your opinions are still out there, for all to see, whether it is about global warming or the Designated Hitter rule.

Facebook versus Forums: the Future

My crystal ball says Facebook is only going to get larger and more complicated. And advertising and other ways of keeping forums open is only going to get harder.

Unless Facebook finds a way to take a deep dive into topics – and make it easier for people to find their way back after a day or two – then I fear a form of interaction may eventually be lost forever.

That is, unless Zoom calls and the like can rise to such a challenge. In and among the fluff and Zoom bombing and other annoyances and weirdness, perhaps that is the way to go. Because I fear that traditional forums are going to bite the dust before 2030, if not sooner.

Although Substack will most likely continue to rise, and will probably replace most forums, even though it is a different type of interaction.

There is room for both types of interactions. Facebook versus forums does not have to pick a winner. The internet is a mighty big tent. But economics and sheer numbers might award a prize anyway.

Good luck!

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If my experiences with Facebook resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts about the largest social network on the planet, by far.

… And Facebook for All

• Creating a Facebook page
† Working with a Facebook Page
• … Your Profile Page

† Offsite Sharing
• All Your Account Settings
† All the Rest of It

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… And Facebook for All, and for all Indie WritersFacebook, advertising, account settings, Profile Page Part, Home Page, Working, Facebook, Rest, Facebook versus Forums, Company Pages, offsite sharing, Facebook Page, demystifying Facebook, Facebook Video Ads, Facebook to Allow Users to Login with Less Info, Facebook video ads, Facebook Ads vs. Google, Organic Reach Decline,

… And Facebook for All, and for all Indie Writers

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on June 16, 2026

Independent authors if you need a sign to tell you to get on Facebook, consider this your sign. This is why.

For Liberty, Justice (?), … and Facebook for All

Facebook matters.

At least, that is what Mark Zuckerberg would want us all to think, wish and feel. I can understand that, a desire to make a website about as universal as possible.

Once the site was no longer exclusive to collegians, the inevitable business model was to universalize it. And the site, today (although that will probably change), has about the best chance to become a truly universal web experience as any site.

And yes, this is despite the advent and rise of AI. It is even despite the fact that a lot of the youngest generations (Generation Alpha and Generation Z, to be more precise) tend to disdain it. But even they cannot avoid Facebook. Their families and teachers are on it.

Universality

So, are you trying to sell your books and short stories (and perhaps cover designs) on the biggest social media site on the planet? Over 3 billion monthly active users are there, as of 2025. That is an awfully big flea market.

But, wait, not so fast. Is that number truly accurate? Absolutely not. After all (and for different reasons), my husband and I each have more than one account. Do you?

Even if you do not, I bet you have at least one friend who does, and probably lots more. In particular, if someone has ever been in Facebook jail, they have probably got at least one separate account.

And that is perfectly all right, and is absolutely permitted by the site (although they would like to change that). And they are trying to….

Real Names

Facebook also pushes for users to go with their correct names. Why? Because if you can hide behind a username, you might flame people more than if you cannot. But the anecdotal evidence certainly points to this not working. At all.

Real names also (in theory) help to eliminate duplicates. But in all honesty, how many guys named Mike Brown do you know? I can think of two I have known in my life and that figure is probably more like four or five.

Even middle names might not fix such a duplication issue. There are probably several men with the name of Michael David Brown in the world.

Also, though, another use for real names is better marketing. If you Anglicize your name, then an advertiser might miss that you are Hispanic, and incorrectly market to you.

However, keep in mind that second accounts are far more likely to be under a fake name.

Not So Fast On Those Real Names

We have all seen names which are not quite so perfectly right, though. How many of us have seen married women using a middle name of something like Was(whatever their maiden name was)? Hence Susan Davis might call herself Susan WasSmith Davis.

It is not a perfect solution, and you do not really have to do that, anyway. Still, there are plenty of people who do.

Others might place a nickname within the middle name field. Robert Bob Brady, or Richard Dick Daily. But again, they might not have to.

The more common nicknames are already going to come up in a search, even though, in both of these examples, the nickname starts with a letter different from the full name.

So, Elizabeth (Beth, Liz), William (Bill), Christopher (Chris, Topher {maybe}), and Amanda (Mandy) are all covered.

Stage Names on FB

Still others may try to use stage names, but Facebook would rather you just create a fan page or have someone do so for you. This is not just to nicely help you keep your personal and professional lives separate. It is also to market to your fan base better.

After all, even your most avid fans might not be too thrilled by a celebrity talking about the logistics of getting to a local hardware store.

Then again, I am pals with a number of former child stars from the 70s and 80s. They all seem to be using their real names. Only Pamlyn Ferdin seems to be keeping two separate pages/accounts.

But it is also likely that, say, the Livingston brothers are keeping separate accounts but those accounts are private and locked down tightly.

No Real Name, No, I Mean it, Facebook!

Then there are people who have damned good reasons for never using their real names, such as people escaping domestic violence. Facebook has gotten better and more sensitive when it comes to such needs.

And, FB may very well have to deal with this issue for anyone who becomes a victim of identity theft due to DOGE bull in a china shop-style actions. We shall see, although they have likely already dealt with identity theft in one way or another.

Why Facebook?

The main purpose of Facebook (in case you are just coming into the light after a few decades on a desert island), is to sell advertising. Its offshoot purpose is to connect people, of all stripes, for free. But it is those connections which sell the advertising.

There is a lot else to it, at least on a general basis. But it is still a valuable business tool for any Social Media Marketing Campaign.

But never forget: you are the product that Facebook is selling.

In fact, that is a good rule of thumb: if it is online and it is free, then guess what they are selling?*

*Note: me? I am selling books, and my own services.

The Best Parts of the Site for Indie Author Social Media Marketing

The main virtues of Facebook, when it comes to marketing your book(s), can currently be divided into three basic areas:

• Personal pages and peripheral connections to same
† Company pages and groups and peripheral connections thereto, and,
• Offsite connections back to the site

By “peripherals”, I mean all the extra stuff that goes along with the site experience, and not computer hardware peripherals.

In addition, FB Marketplace may or may not be a decent place for some people and companies to get some sales traction. But I would not count on it, if I were you. You will most likely find FB Marketplace is more for a used bike, not your books.

Other ideas include creating a Facebook page for you, the writer, or for your biggest series. Or maybe just for your biggest book. What about a group? That might be a good idea for your fans to gather.

You could use it to plan when you will be doing a signing or a reading. And then coordinate when you can meet and greet your bigger fans. Or use a group to gather together all of your beta readers.

The Concept of Universal-ish Reach at Facebook

Beyond just the sheer numbers, Facebook is extremely good at putting people together who are similar. You always get friend suggestions, yes? Those people tend to either have friends in common with you, or they have some other characteristic in common with you.

The part that is in common might be home town. Or it might be favorite sports team. Another possible connection could be where you work.

Now, face it: if you work in a huge Fortune 50 company, then you will have tons of coworkers. And the chances are beyond good that you will not know everyone. You may not even know everyone in your office building or even on your floor.

So sometimes when a friend request arises, it may feel like a mystery. Hence, look for a commonality. Sometimes commonality is religion, by the way.

So, if you are a Muslim person working in New York City for a huge company like Exxon, the list of people that FB tags as being somehow related to you is laughably long.

Clutches of People

But getting back to the people you do connect with. It is perfectly natural to hang out with the people you went to high school with, or who love the same sports team you do. You might feel more comfortable with fellow cancer survivors, horse people, etc.

Or you might want to set up a political echo chamber. Another thing you might want to do is spend time with people in the same profession as you, and do some networking (although LinkedIn really is better for that. Usually).

Your readers may want to get together online to discuss your book. And, spoiler alert! They might not want you to be a part of that discussion.

But no matter what, we people tend to group together. It is a natural tendency. We have been gathering together since before there was a Homo sapiens species.

Facebook just exploits that. Really, really well.

And if various antitrust cases go one way, they might not in the future. But we do not know that yet.

Takeaways

Your readers and potential readers probably have a lot in common. Helping gather them together can be a way to relate to them but also sell more books. FB can be a way to put together a street team, too.

Your readers may very well connect with each other, too. This is great news all around, and not just for sales.

After all, FB friendships are as real and powerful and intimate as those which originated offline. I know more than one couple who met and married after first meeting there. Don’t you?

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• Creating a Facebook page
† Working with a Facebook Page
• … Your Profile Page
† Offsite Sharing
• All Your Account Settings
† All the Rest of It
• Facebook versus Forums

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Social Media Continues its Relentless Pace

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on June 9, 2026

Ever feel like you’re on an online treadmill? Well, you just might be falling victim to social media’s relentless pace.

Social Media Continues its Relentless Pace to Try to Make You Stay Put

It’s a relentless pace out there. And much like the holidays accelerate the end of the year, and we suddenly look up on January 7th or so and wonder exactly what the hell just happened, social media is continuing to not so much reap the whirlwind as to be the whirlwind.

But at the same time, there is an effort afoot to slow down and control that very same whirlwind.

Twitter’s Relentless Pace

Case in point: Twitter (er, X) has implemented changes, over the course of its history, that are designed to keep people on as long as possible.

They do this by embedding media more directly and making it so that you do not have to leave Twitter’s embrace in order to enjoy a clip or a photograph. Often, this means shortening a URL.

So far, so good. But shortened URLs can allow for more malware exploits. It’s like one step forward, a step back and another one to the side.

Facebook’s Relentless Pace

Facebook tests its layout pretty much constantly. In fact, it changes it every single day. They are the biggest A/B testing site on the planet, bar none! So, what is changing? And what isn’t?

The profile is going to continually become richer and provide more information. This may or may not be useful to users but it will certainly keep them on longer. At least, that will happen at the start, when it is a fresh, novel concept.

As time has passed, we have all seen how Facebook has attempted to become more things to more people. Is that good? Well, it can be.

But it also means that people have to take it more seriously. Somewhat ridiculously rigid rules on verbiage force people into typing silly stuff like ‘unalive’.

LinkedIn’s Relentless Pace

Long ago, LinkedIn tried adding Signal to make it easier to track even more of the social media avalanche – and, of course, to try to keep people on LinkedIn as long as possible.

They are also using status types of communications. And do not get me started on the avalanche of AI-written garbage that infests status updates and articles. Sounds a lot like Facebook, eh?

LinkedIn also pushes articles, and tries to get you to follow thought leadership. By itself, this is not a bad idea over all. Except anyone can, conceivably, become a thought leader. Kinda. Just post enough, and get a big enough follow.

This is not a bad gig if you can get it, but it can also be a dandy way to spread misinformation, sports fans.

The Common Thread

What these changes have had in common, other than, perhaps, novelty for the sake of novelty, is the desire to keep people on site as long as possible. Put some tar down, and have us all stick, at least for a while.

So while the internet spins ever faster, and social media sites attempt to keep up, their overall strategies seem to try to slow us all down. Will it work? Is it a foolish dream to think you can keep people around with such tricks, such slick bells and whistles?

The Lack of Meaningful Content

What disturbs me is that there is not a lot of content happening. Or at least not a lot of good content. Good content would, could, should make me want to hang around.

But instead of hiring writers to improve things, or rewarding good current content providers, each of the big three sites is instead pursuing a software solution. Al, folks.

But what is the sense in hanging around a site if the content is not compelling? Or are we, instead, merely getting the sites that we, perhaps, deserve?

Hence here is what happens if my Facebook friends list is dominated by people I went to High School with over forty years ago. Their status updates and my wall have a lot of news of their birthdays, their children (and grandchildren these days), and their careers.

But why would we ever expect anything else?

And if I instead tip my list in a different direction, and it is suddenly dominated by the people I work with or diet with or do artwork with, the news is going to be different.

In particular, politically, you can see very different versions of each site, depending on your bubble. After all, a lot of us prefer to see people we like and agree with. … and that’s how we get ideological bubbles.

Comparison to Reality TV

One thing about Reality TV is that it is anything but real if it is at all successful. Because people just, generally, do not lead terribly interesting lives.

Yes, you too, gentle reader. We pick up the dry cleaning. Or we bicker over the remote. We forget to buy sausages and make do with hot dogs. And around and around and around we go.

And all three of these really big social media sites, when we are not following celebrities and businesses, are really just a big agglomeration of Post-It Notes whereby we tell each other to grab milk on the way home.

For “Reality” to be compelling at all, it has got to be unreal, and have a scripted. It must become this fight or that rose ceremony or this other weird pancake-making challenge.

The bigger, older three older social media sites, when you strip away the celebrities and the companies, can be a boatload of errands or a standard-form holiday letter. You know the kind, where you learn little Suzie has taken up the clarinet. Over and over ad infinitum.

No wonder we need software solutions to keep us there. The relentless pace continues.

Whither TikTok and the Rest?

TikTok shackles you to it by way of its algorithm (sound familiar)? Like one video and you get sucked into the next one, and the next, and then the next one after that. The videos are short, so it does not feel like a relentless pace.

Until you look up and realize that four hours have gone by.

It is a lot like eating a bag of potato chips. You stick your hand in, grab a few or a big handful, and go to town. It does not feel like a lot, until suddenly the bag is empty and you are thirsty from all the salt.

In the world of dieting, the conventional wisdom is to portion out your chips. Fill a smaller bag and put a clip on the bigger one, and stick it back in the cabinet. In short, have some discipline and a smidgen of self-control.

With TikTok or anything else, unless we put a timer on our sessions or have external pressures getting us off the virtual hamster wheel, our lives pass us by as we succumb to the relentless pace.

Dang, I am a ray of sunshine sometimes, eh?

Want More About Social Media?

If my experiences with non-platform-specific social media resonate with you, then check out my other articles about navigating our social media obsessed world.

Social Media in Our Society

• Social Media’s Seduction AKA Oops, Did I Do That?
† Social Media Background Check Being Used For Jury Selection
• Social Media: Hope, Hype or What?

† Social Media Balance
• How Social Media Can Ruin Your Life
† Happy Holidays, Social Media Style

Social Media for Writers

• The Power of Social Media (Neurotic Writers’ Edition)
† Social Media and Writing
• Social Media and Writing Part 2

† Social Media and Writing Part 3
• Are You Promoting Your Writing With Social Media?

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Working With a Facebook Page as an Indie AuthorFacebook, advertising, account settings, Profile Page Part, Home Page, Working, Facebook, Rest, Facebook versus Forums, Company Pages, offsite sharing, Facebook Page, demystifying Facebook, Facebook Video Ads, Facebook to Allow Users to Login with Less Info, Facebook video ads, Facebook Ads vs. Google, Organic Reach Decline,

Working With a Facebook Page as an Indie Author

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on April 28, 2026

The Best Way to Start Working with a Facebook Page

How do you go about working with a Facebook page?

As an indie author, you are also, to be perfectly frank about it, a small business owner. As such, it makes the most sense to treat your Facebook page a lot like many other small business owners do.

That is, it works as a front door, an advertising platform, a means to exude professional authority, and a collaborative space for a community.

Always keep in mind that Facebook is constantly A/B testing. In other words, they are checking to see if new layouts or color schemes, etc. will make you click more.

So, these instructions might be a little out of date after a while. This is what currently works. Caveat emptor. Or maybe caveat clicker.

Adding Images When Working with a Facebook Page

Images are always helpful. Use them as a measure of branding for your work and always use images you have permission to post!

If someone else created or photographed an image you are using, even if you now own the rights, it is a courtesy to link to them and give them a shout out.

A lot of my father’s and husband’s photography is on my personal author page, and people like to see newer work from my husband.

It is just another way to acknowledge that this is a community and this solitary pursuit is far from being completely solitary.

Some Details for Working with a Facebook Page

Since the specifics change all the time, I cannot go into a lot of detail (sorry!). However, for your company or author page, you will most likely want to add to and update things like the background image. Add events and post to the wall as you like.

I would also strongly suggest adding an image every single time you update. Text-only updates get lost in people’s feeds. Images are less likely to be missed.

Updates

Retaining attention is all about the updates.

You can schedule a few months in advance, so make a point of doing this. In addition, you can cover a lot more if you spread out your work and set it to emerge at various times.

Just look at your insights to get an idea of when people are online, and match to those times as well as you are able to.

Setting Up a ‘Buy Now’ Button

You will definitely want one of these. Right in front of your background image, there are three buttons. The one on the left (which is actually in the middle of your background) is a variable.

Pull down on it and choose what you want to showcase. Select Edit Call to Action and enter a link directly to buy your work. Be sure it is a link directly to your work on Amazon or Smashwords or wherever.

That is, clear away the extraneous junk on the URL. So, for Amazon works, this is everything after the ISBN.

If you have nothing to currently sell, you can always upload a YouTube video and change the call to action to a call to watch a video on your site.

There are other choices such as Call Now. So, use whatever works best for your needs.

And if you want to start advertising on Facebook, well, that is a whole other thing…

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

Want More About Facebook?

If my experiences with Facebook resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts about the largest social network on the planet, by far.

… And Facebook for All

• Creating a Facebook page
† … Your Profile Page
• Offsite Sharing
† All Your Account Settings
• Facebook versus Forums

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… And Facebook for All – Offsite Sharing for Independent AuthorsFacebook, advertising, account settings, Profile Page Part, Home Page, Working, Facebook, Rest, Facebook versus Forums, Company Pages, offsite sharing, Facebook Page, demystifying Facebook, Facebook Video Ads, Facebook to Allow Users to Login with Less Info, Facebook video ads, Facebook Ads vs. Google, Organic Reach Decline,

… And Facebook for All – Offsite Sharing for Independent Authors

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 15, 2026

Offsite sharing is a bit like old-fashioned door to door marketing. But it has a modern twist and modern metrics. Both are ideal for the independent writer of today.

… And Facebook for All — Offsite Sharing

Offsite sharing is a fascinating concept. Perhaps the most compelling feature of Facebook consists of the availability of the Like button. And it is in so many places that there are likely many end users who can scarcely recall a time when it did not yet exist.

The Like Button and Offsite Sharing

Because the offsite Like Button dovetails beautifully with its presence on the site itself, i.e.,

“The Like button lets a user share your content with friends on Facebook. When the user clicks the Like button on your site, a story appears in the user’s friends’ News Feed with a link back to your website.”

Drag and Drop

Furthermore, the site tries to make it easy for even novice programmers (and people who can really only do drag and drop) to place a Like Button on their own sites for offsite sharing.

The premise is irresistible. You add the Like Button, people like your own site, and that information transmits back to Facebook and to the likers’ friend lists.

In addition, their friends, who may not have know about you at all, suddenly do, and the offsite sharing spreads even more. They, hopefully, check you out, like you, and the process repeats on and on, ad infinitum, or at least in theory.

And with enough intersecting friends with enough non-intersecting additional friendships, a few likes could translate into dozens, if not hundreds, or even thousands, of new people who know about you.

If those start to translate into sales, then you are golden.

Engagement and Reach

However, engagement and reach are both going down. And Facebook actually has the gall to try to get people to pay for what it does. Quelle horreur!

But, seriously folks, how do you think Facebook pays its bills? They do it with advertising. If users will not be charged (and Facebook would be mighty foolish to start charging all of those free sources of detailed consumer data), then advertisers will be.

And of course that already happens.

What gets a lot of people’s undershorts knotted is that the freebie advertising is harder and harder to implement. Facebook seems to push everyone with a page to start buying likes to get more offsite sharing.

Thumb on the Scale?

Whoa, Nelly! Because that would be kind of unethical, if the site was deliberately putting a thumb on an imaginary scale and making it harder for indie authors and others to reach their fans without paying for reach and engagement.

So, are they doing that?

While the jury is still out (after years!), I am still inclined to say no. After all, the site grows by leaps and bounds on a second by second basis. And so engagement and reach dilute without Facebook having to do a damned thing.

Finally, does the site benefit from making it harder for page and group administrators to connect for free? Absolutely. But do they have to work in order to create this condition?

Probably not (or at least, not much). Life does it for them.

Offsite Sharing: Takeaways for Indie Writers

Beyond issues with Russian interference and how the Facebook algorithm can sometimes tamp down third parties, offsite sharing can work pretty well there.

Political and other paid ads, though, are another story. They are a reminder that, every year, Facebook becomes more and more of a pay to play platform.

Hence if you want to share something from off the site, or you want to sell from your site by sharing to FB, then your shared content might be lost amidst the paid stuff.

You may simply have to attribute it to life in the big Facebook city, and start paying for some ads. So be it.

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

Want More About Facebook?

If my experiences with Facebook resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts about the largest social network on the planet, by far.

• Creating a Facebook page
† Working with a Facebook Page
• … Your Profile Page
† Offsite Sharing
• All Your Account Settings
† All the Rest of It
• Facebook versus Forums

Next blog post

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Four Important Social Media Stats for WritersSocial Media, Social Media Writing, Social Media Writing Part, Social Media Writing Part 3, Best Lengths, Hesitation Generation, screen name, Happy Holidays, Relentless Pace, Cyber Infidelity, Podcasting, Neurotic Writers, Social Media Balance, Social Media Perfection, Losing Control, Social Media Tips, Employee Passwords, Look Like Online, social media, Social Media Platforms, Promoting Writing, Social Media Marketer, EditMe Webinar, Demand for Social Media Jobs, Stumbleupon surpasses, Less Conversation, Snapchat Settles with FTC, Quickly Boost Results, Hope and Hype, Auto-Service Economy, Sharing Less, Social Media background check, formatted posts, Four Important Social Media Stats, Cheat Sheets, Social Media Seduction, social back, Social media background check, Collaboration rocks, Wikileaks knocks, Editme Webinar, Cyber Legacy, Campaign 2012, Demographics, ways to improve, Time-saving tips, They Used to Call me Robot Girl

Four Important Social Media Stats for Writers

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 6, 2026

The four important social media stats are for writers and non-writers alike!

Consider These Four Important Social Media Stats

These were four important social media stats for you! This post was, in part, a riff on Four Great Free Tools and Four Important Stats. And I like the important stats. As for the four free tools, I’ll reserve judgment for another day.

These are still somewhat important, but keep in mind that the numbers have undoubtedly changed.

STAT 1 for Writers

53% of people on Twitter recommend companies and/or products in their Tweets, with 48% of them delivering on their intention to buy the product. (ROI Research for Performance, June 2010)

However does this takes into account what essentially looks like spamming (e. g. buy this stuff!) versus what seems to be more sincere mentions of products, e. g. someone says I love this new Gatorade or I think my New Balance sneakers really make me faster?

I know it can be difficult for a large-scale survey of tweets to tell the difference between the two. However, if there is that much of a return, then I figure, the people either know or, perhaps, they just don’t care.

For authors, your best bet may very well be to make sure that your work is a part of the overall conversation. But not in the way of, “A story about the president? Well, here’s my story about a turtle and a Shetland sheepdog!” It’s…probably not related. So, don’t go there.

STAT 2 for Authors

The average consumer mentions specific brands over 90 times per week in conversations with friends, family, and co-workers. (Keller Fay, WOMMA, 2010) – Just what  does this mean? I mention products all the time, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m touting them.

Ugh, I hate what they did to my conditioner! Why did John Frieda have to change it?

And that is a far cry from I want some more of that Amy’s Low-Salt Marinara Sauce with Basil – sooo good.

Since the stat doesn’t mention whether the mentions went positive or negative, I suppose it’s a corollary to the old saw, that any press is good press. Note: sentiment analysis is better than it used to be, but still has a ways to go.

For writers, the best move may be to get a conversation centered on your work going, and keep it going.

STAT 3 for Independent Authors

Consumer reviews are significantly more trusted – nearly 12 times more – than descriptions that come from manufacturers, according to a survey of US mom Internet users by online video review site EXPO. (eMarketer, February 2010)

This is how viral marketing works, kids. Because if a company can send out its minions to tout a product, even if not 100% positively (and it’s more believable that way, as it doesn’t look like mere puffery), then folks eat that up. Astroturfing Nation, here we come.

Here’s a counter-example.

When Untrustworthy first came out, people would privately message me and tell me that they liked it. Well, this is lovely and all, but at the time, I had none or nearly no public reviews.

And so, I nicely asked those folks to please review me, preferably on Amazon. I would provide the link, of course! And even when people said it wasn’t their cup of tea, I asked them to review the book, anyway.

Why?

Because a set of 100% five-star reviews for a brand-new author looks rather suspect. Warts and all, my reviews are the real deal.

STAT 4 for Indie Writers

In a study conducted by social networking site myYearbook, 81 percent of respondents said they’d received advice from friends and followers relating to a product purchase through a social site.

74 percent of those who received such advice found it to be influential in their decision. (Click Z, January 2010)

However, this may be more of a function of the pervasiveness of social sites versus their influence. E. g. I truly only hear from some of my cousins through Facebook.

Do I give their opinions more credence than I do passing acquaintances’? Sometimes. But do I get this Facebook-based advice from them because we don’t pick up the phone or send snail mail or meet in person (we’re too far away to do this, anyway).

But to my mind, this is almost like giving the phone company credit for marketing strategy if we chat on the phone. We don’t. Instead, we use Facebook. I think this is a potential confusion of medium versus message.

For authors, your best bet is likely to involve yourself in

Where Do We Go From Here With These Four Important Social Media Stats?

So, are social sites really that important? Is X (Twitter) really that targeted? Perhaps not as much as it was. Do consumers really trust their pals more than they do slick, conventional marketers? Probably maybe, not really and yes.

Even years later, it’s up to the writer (acting as their own Social Media Marketer) to separate the wheat from the chaff with these kinds of stories, and see what’s really going on.

What do you think?

Fifteen Years After This Post Was First, Er, Posted…

… (and over five since it was last posted) keep in mind that numbers shift and, these days, Twitter is called X, anyway.

But these metrics are still good, and they are still vital. For larger businesses, getting case studies published, and getting brand ambassadors on board, is still a terrific and inexpensive way to market. For writers, that translates into reviews.

These types of marketing build trustworthiness (the ‘T‘ in Google’s E-EAT). They also help to build and bolster word of mouth, which is still a vital piece of any marketer’s strategy.

And in the world of AI, trustworthy and clear reviews and answers are a lot more likely to pass muster and be recommended by the likes of, say, Google Gemini.

So, don’t discount these metrics, okay? But do be sure to take the numbers with a grain of salt.

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

Writers: Do You Want More About Social Media?

If my experiences with non-platform-specific social media resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts about navigating our social media obsessed world.

Social Media in Our Society

† Social Media Continues its Relentless Pace
• Social Media Background Check Being Used For Jury Selection
† How Social Media Can Ruin Your Life
• Happy Holidays, Social Media Style

Working with Social Media

† A Day in the Life of a Social Media Marketer
• Social Networking/Social Media Tips
† The Best Lengths for Social Media Posts and More
• Jell-O on the Wall: Social Media Perfection is Fleeting

Social Media for Writers

• The Power of Social Media (Neurotic Writers’ Edition)
† Social Media and Writing
• Social Media and Writing Part 2
† Social Media and Writing Part 3
• Are You Promoting Your Writing With Social Media?

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