How to use this Page

Social media is a great marketing tool. It's a chance to connect with writers, readers, publishers, editors, and agents like never before. It's easy, and it's fast; but in order to use it effectively, you still have to follow old-fashioned, pre-social media rules of networking and building relationships and connections. You have to give before you can take. You have to be personable, and you have to share something of yourself. If you forget this, in your quick use of social media to promote yourself, then you will not be as successful. You cannot constantly ask people to do something for you without sharing yourself and giving to others.

Joel Comm, author of Twitter Power, which is a book I highly recommend, states on his website,  "Whatever your industry, make sure that you're not just building followers but building those relationships and networks, too." 

So, how do you do this? How do you stop ONLY promoting yourself and start interacting?

• On Facebook, you can visit other writers' pages and leave comments. You can follow your writing friends' links to their blogs and or book pages. You can leave encouraging words on their walls. Respond to their book signing and blogging events, even if you cannot attend. 
• On Twitter, you can retweet a friend's interesting tweet that links to her bog. You can recommend another author's book as a holiday gift.  You can get involved in a hashtag chat and share your opinion and ideas with other writers.
• On Linked In, you can recommend friends whom you have worked with personally or whose books you have read. You can answer questions in the QUESTIONS section of the site. You can also participate in group discussions in the groups that you are in, especially if someone is asking for people's advice and/or experience.

Twitter. Facebook. Linked In.

If you're a writer, you should be using social media platforms to promote your work.

The same is true for journalists and non-fiction authors. These social media outlets allow writers from all genres and platforms to promote articles and publications, connect with readers, and find sources.

But journalists may want to reconsider simply retweeting a message.

Early this month, The Associated Press issued revised social media guidelines for journalists employed by the wire service. Included is a new section covering retweeting messages without context.

After reading the new guidelines, I started thinking about what types of tweets I retweet and how it could affect my freelance career. I primarily write for a regional newspaper (sometimes my articles go out on the wire service but I am NOT an AP employee), a regional sports website, and WOW! Women on Writing.

Is it possible that something I retweet could push away a potential employer? Is there a chance that a retweet could be taken as an endorsement, especially if I don't clarify my view by simply hitting the retweet icon?

Using the first two publications I generally write for as examples, I thought of several times when a tweet - or even a retweet - did or could potentially cause problems.

In September, I covered a meeting about a controversial pipeline project slated to cut through the Nebraska Sandhills that has stirred an international debate. During the meeting, I sent several tweets highlighting key points from each speaker. I also prefaced the first tweet by saying I was reporting live from the event. About half-way through the two-hour meeting, I began receiving replies from supporters of the project, complaining that I should not be tweeting from the meeting.

Why not? I wasn't offering my opinion. I was relaying information directly from the presenters, the same information that would appear in my newspaper article.

I also write for a regional sports website and am Twitter friends with several of the athletes of the team we cover. Occasionally, I'll retweet an athlete's messages. Why? Because it contains pertinent information or because it's from the athlete's point of view and the typical fan-in-the-stands may not understand the complexity of the sport and its competitions.

Could a retweet cause repercussions? It's possible.

It's an interesting dynamic for those of us who write for the daily presses and online publications, and it's not limited to reporters hired by the AP.

Their rules of social media engagement are practical for any writer, whether a novice stringer trying to break into a publication or the seasoned writer who has built a brand around a book series or newspaper career.

Since the guidelines came out three weeks ago, I have paid more attention to my own Twitter messages and Facebook posts, as well as to what I choose to retweet.

While a fine line exists between personal and professional posts, all writers should take all precautions to keep their writing reputation - in addition to the outlets they write for - safe from unexpected backlash.

And you can retweet me as saying that.

by LuAnn Schindler. Read more of LuAnn's work, including her weekly newspaper column, at her website.