Once established on various social media and digital platforms, what are ways to enhance the social media strategy to engage with audiences and maintain your online presence? Presented at the Liberty States Writers Conference 2019

1. Creating and Maintaining
Your Online Presence
Sourabh Sharma
@figorout
@sssourabh

2. i have set everything up online. now what?

3. recall your objectives
• Build a Brand
• Escalate Awareness
• Engage Audiences
• Drive Purchase
• Etc.

4. what do people see when they…
stumble upon you find you
look for you see you

5. consistency
because it all plugs back into you

6. put your content all out there …

7. … and keep people engaged

8. consistency across platforms via content
and engagement is key
content
consistency
engagement
loyalty

9. “online” content

10. branding: keep it consistent
• Visually
• Tonally
• Same “look and
feel” across your
online self
• Pick a niche
– Life
– Books
– Travel
– Brands
– Etc.

11. creating content
• Create inter-related content
– Images
– Writings, quotes
– Lists (e.g. recommendations)
– Live streams
– Blogs
– Combination
• Assess what works, and
create more of it
• Tie it together with a theme

12. “online” engagement

13. love is a two way street

14. audiences usually like
• Authenticity
• Information and insights
• Conversation
• Recommendations
• Background information

15. … and like a bit less
• Lack of authenticity (third party postings)
• Lack of information
• Lack of conversation
• Only advertising
• An overdose of things related to global
economics (weather, politics, etc.)

16. now, fit your engagement ideas somewhere
• Host a Q&A session
• Ask for opinions / feedback
• Run contests or host giveaways
• Answer frequently asked questions (FAQ)
• Reveal teasers / excerpts / etc.
• Showcase inspiration behind things
• Provide behind the scenes (BTS) information
• Share event schedules

17. engagement platforms
website
blog
email
social platforms
going ‘live’

18. website blog
• Hierarchically sorted information
• Information source
• ‘Home’ page and landing page
with interconnected, layered
pages
• One of these could be a blog
• Chronologically sorted
content and ‘posts’
• Blog = web log or diary

19. website
• A fairly static (sometimes
evolutionary) portal
• A central location with content like:
– Your bio and work
– Links to purchasing
– Links to subscribing
– Links to other social platforms
– A calendar of events
– A blog
• Hosted/built on:
– Wordpress / Blogger
– Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, etc.

20. blog
• WWW: A blog is optimized for
searchability (SEO)
• Content is chronologically sorted
but can be shared and reshared
repeatedly. Content can include:
– Planning tool for your ‘next thing’
– Collection of inspiration (e.g.
characters, themes, etc.)
– Excerpts
• Images, quotes, etc.
– Behind the scenes (BTS) content

21. email marketing
• Emails are mostly to provide
information or direct traffic
elsewhere
• Emails can be scheduled (time and
content) in advance with content
from other channels (social
platforms or website)
• In marketing, emails still continue to
generate much click-through and
commerce, where applicable

22. email marketing
• Collecting emails
– Subscription via social or website
• Emails drive traffic and engagement
– Periodic newsletter with content that is
shared on other platforms
– Updates / information / alerts
– Seasonal greetings
– Create catchy subject lines!
• Plan/create/schedule beforehand:
– Platforms that are easy to use:
Mailchimp, Campaign monitor

23. what social platforms fit with your objectives
and brand?
videos
written
content
visual
content
real time
content

24. facebook
• Several call to actions to choose from:
– Sign up / subscribe
– Purchase
• Engagement is essential
• Used for:
– Engaging with audiences
– Sales / polls / engagement tactics
– A variety of posts, including content shared from
other social media platforms
• Results
– Direct click through, signups and purchases, all
measurable

25. instagram
• A visual medium
• Balance quality of each post as well as feed
• Used for
– Driving engagement via posts and ephemeral content
(stories)
– Driving audiences to other platforms (e.g. website)
– Relaying an artistic, visual side of the world
– Sharing content which includes images, art covers,
personality, travels, etc.
• Results
– Discovery and inspiration
– Validation and engagement

26. instagram
• Planning
– Plan the ‘look and feel’
of your feed in advance
– ‘draft’ posts, captions,
and pick from pre-sorted
list of hashtags (30 max!)
• Designed for discovery
– Tag relevant brands, geo-
locations, accounts, etc.
• Maintain a cohesive
looking feed

27. twitter
• Get the ‘pulse’ of a conversation
• Limited character conversations that disappear,
but are more ‘conversational’ based on a tweet
or a hashtag/topic
• Used for
– Conversations on a topic
– Twitter chats
– Following a hashtag for an event, etc.
• Results
– Conversations and point of view
– Click through to any external site / platform

28. twitter
• Easy scheduling of tweets
via software
• Easy engagement
– Reply / retweet / share
• Community building
– Twitter lists (e.g. for authors)
– Create a cult, e.g.
“Danamaniacs” by author
Dana Stabenow

29. pinterest
• All about discovery
• Segregate content into ‘boards’ which can be
followed in isolation versus an entire profile
• Used for
– Quotes
– Covers or art ideas
– Research and inspiration
– Shopping
• Results
– Inspiration
– Click throughs to other platforms

30. going ‘live’
• Livestream on Facebook,
Instagram or Twitter
• Real time engagement and
interaction, which can be
repurposed into content
• Examples
– Run a Q&A session
– Answer FAQs
– Behind the scenes (BTS)
– Talk about your new launch
– Ask for feedback / opinions

31. now, fit your engagement ideas somewhere
• Host a Q&A session
• Ask for opinions / feedback
• Run contests or host giveaways
• Answer frequently asked questions (FAQ)
• Reveal teasers / excerpts / etc.
• Showcase inspiration behind things
• Provide behind the scenes (BTS) information
• Share event schedules

32. getting organized

33. editorial calendar
• Create a calendar across all
platforms
– Keep it periodic, consistent
• Identify which content can be
shared across platforms
– Images, quotes, etc.
• Identify seasonal content for
holidays / important dates
• Software helps
– Hootsuite / Buffer, etc.
– Mailchimp, etc.

34. collect and store content
• Images should be stored and
organized for access across your
entire online presence
– Dropbox, Google Photos for
storage
– Pixlr, Photoshop, Picassa,
Snapseed for editing
• Manage excerpts of brand copy
– Quotes, etc.
• Use search tool to get the best
#hashtags
– Keep a list of these handy

35. tweak and grow
Have fun
Set realistic
expectations
Measure
progress and
growth
See what
you enjoy
Grow what
you enjoy

36. you cannot force yourself to enjoy
something, but you can learn about it and
see what works for you
• Try things out
• Follow tips and guidelines
• Measure your progress
• Link back to your
objectives
• Post or put content out if
you think you have to, as
the reluctance may show.
• Engage without a periodic
quality and/or timing, as
you may disengage your
audiences.
Do Don’t

37. relax
you don’t need to be everywhere

38. listen, watch, observe others
before making a plan

39. do what works for you and what you enjoy
and try out other things too

40. Creating and Maintaining
Your Online Presence
Sourabh Sharma
@figorout
@sssourabh