Sunday, May 25, 2014

Twitter versus Instagram

I’m not the best when it comes to social media.  I find it to be more or less a necessary evil.  It’s not a horrible thing really, but all things being equal, I’d rather be writing my next book and let it speak for itself than be finding things to talk about on Facebook, Twitter, or even a blog.  Even now, I had to force myself to do this before getting back to my next book.

So for the wide release launch of the first Relic Worlds novel, I’m getting a social media guru to help me.  She gave me a choice of two platforms through which she would help.  Facebook is a must, and the other can be either Twitter or Instagram.  My first thought is for Twitter, but she recommended Instagram.  She said that Instagram is more popular with young people these days.

I therefore have to consider the pros and cons of both platforms.  I’m not crazy about either of them as I’m someone who prefers to have longer, deeper conversations, which are not conducive to the brief Twitter posts, or the picture-only Instagram.  My promoter said we could post things relevant to Relic Worlds such as scientific photos and science fiction pictures.  We couldn’t do much in the real world as pictures of me would involve me in the chair in front of my computer, then me in the chair from another angle, then me with a cat on my lap, etc.

This wasn’t a bad idea, but then I got to thinking that the reason why Instagram is more popular with younger people is because many of them are more interested in images than words.  If I was doing Relic Worlds as a comic book, this would be a good idea, but I’m not.  I want to attract people who are interested in reading, in taking in words, brief or otherwise.

One of the most important things I’ve learned in marketing is that you have to market to people who may actually buy your product.  Marketing to anyone else may seem like you’re casting a wider net, but you’re really just wasting time.  It’s for this  reason that I’m probably going to go with Twitter promotions throughout July.


I’m no expert at this, though, so if anyone reading this has further insight, I would love to hear it.

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