I bought this because it was on sale and I’m a keen reader of Frances Caballo’s blog.
The first part is excellent, as she takes readers through her four-step approach to social media: content curation, scheduling, being social, and analysing your metrics. This is all in the first few pages, so download and read the free Kindle sample.
The middle part contains lots of links to social media apps to help automate content curation and scheduling. Some are free, but others are not (and the prices have increased considerably since Caballo published this book). The end of the book touches on the important topics of planning a blog content calendar (because blogs are also part of social media), and a schedule of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual tasks. This is similar to my own mental list, so it’s good go have the confirmation I’m on the right track!
The problem with Avoid Social Media Time Suck is the publishing date. Caballo says:
“A few years on the Internet is almost equivalent to a millennium.”
Avoid Social Media Time Suck was published in 2014—a millennium ago. While the principles outlined in the first section of the book haven’t changed, a lot of the specific advice in the middle section is now dated. Instagram barely gets a mention, and Tailwind doesn’t exist.
And that’s a potential problem if someone who isn’t social media-savvy reads the book. It’s not recommending the best apps. Some of the advice on the more established social networks is now dated to the point of being against the terms of service. New social media users won’t know what information is good, what is outdated, and what could get you kicked off Twitter or sent to Facebook jail.
Basically, the book has some excellent tips, but needs updating for the new millennium.
The best part was the plan:
(Which, of course, should be adapted to your individual needs.)
Daily tasks
Post to social media channels
Follow new users on Twitter [and Instagram!]
Check responses to blog posts and reply
Thank Tweeps for RTs
Review notifications on other social networks and respond where necessary.
Weekly Tasks
Write a 500-word blog post
Comment on industry blogs
Participate in LinkedIn Groups [I’ve been on LinkedIn for so long that I thought it was a business tool, not a social network … so this isn’t something I’ve ever done]
Monthly Tasks
Write a 1,000-word blog post
Mail a newsletter
Quarterly Tasks
Conduct an author interview/podcast/video
Six-Monthly Tasks
Update website
Create a downloadable white paper from a series of blog posts & offer on Scribd [I think the more contemporary advice would be to offer it as a free download to entice people to sign up for your email newsletter.]
Annual Tasks
Teach a webinar
It’s a lot … but it’s also manageable because
About Avoid Social Media Time Suck
How You Can Avoid Social Media Time Suck and Still Have Time to Write
- How to curate content.
- What and how to schedule your tweets, posts, updates and shares.
- The importance of scheduling time to be social.
- Analyzing your metrics.
Social media is no longer an option for writers – it is a required element of every author’s marketing platform. And using social media to market your books doesn’t need to be time-consuming.
Whether you consider yourself a seasoned social media user or you are new to the social web, this book will introduce you to posting schedules, timesaving applications and content-rich websites that will help you to economize your time while using social media to market your books.
Find Avoid Social Media Time Suck online at:
Amazon US | Amazon AU | Goodreads
