Social media is here to stay. I think people were silly to invest so much money in Facebook as a business, after all, it’s all about advertising, when was the last time you clicked on an ad in Facebook? Yea, me either…
I do like social media, though, truth be told, I don’t spend much time on Facebook, LinkedIN, YouTybe etc. I get updates on my phone, but that’s about it. I use Twitter as my primary “embassy.” I think of it as “Facebook without all the annoying stuff.”
I call it an “embassy” because that’s the term Michael Hyatt uses in his book “Platform“, which I recommend you read no matter how interested you think you are in having an online presence. Like most people, I’ve been playing with social media for a couple of years, and I’ve been blogging off-and-on for a while, but Michael has encouraged me to think of it more seriously.
What is social media and why is it important?
- The nuts and bolts of social media can be complicated, but in general it’s pretty simple. It is a way to interact with people and have your voice heard. Michael understands this and describes it well. In the “good old days” (which, by the way, don’t really exist) you had to have a TV or radio show, or perhaps have a book published or be a columnist for some kind of newspaper or magazine to speak to large groups of people… that is no longer true.
- Social Media is important (at least to me) because the writer’s success depends on, now more than ever, the quality of the message. As a Pastor, in years gone by, the only way for me to get the message out was to lead a church that would get bigger-and-bigger. That’s still not a bad idea, but I now have the ability to reach (currently) over 1,500 people every time I write a blog post (via: twitter, Facebook, linkedIN, email subscriptions + shares). For me, social media is important because my message is the Gospel. I want to point people to Jesus Christ and that’s a big deal to me!
All of this has gotten me to reevaluate my social media strategy. If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll notice some pretty big changes lately.
- I am not a professional blogger, and I do all this updating on my own time outside of work, but I have very seriously updated my “home base.” That’s where you are right now. I moved from “WordPress.com” to “WordPress.org” and I’m using “Standard Theme.” However, if you want to pay me to put your ad up on my site, shoot me an email 🙂
- I am now writing and scheduling my blog posts in advance so that I will write consistently at least three times a week, and for sure on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays at 3:00am (central) a new post will go up.
- I am also being more active in trying to “work” my twitter and Facebook accounts, I use buffer to post (at least twice a day) and schedule those in advance, and every time a blog post is published, a link goes to twitter and Facebook.
It’s not about me, it’s not that I think I’m all that great, it’s that I feel called to be a Pastor/Teacher. If I feel called to stand in the pulpit (which I will be doing on July 8th at 8:15, 9:30 & 10:55a) and preach, surely I need to have something to say. If I have something to say, specifically: THE GOSPEL, then I need to try to say it to everyone who will listen… which brings us back to Social Media. That’s why I’m doing it, that’s why it’s important, that’s why.
I want to get better, so I need your input… please put your responses in the “comments” so that I can get better:
- If you have followed me for a while, what changes have you noticed?
- What do you like better… what did you like better before?
- What social media services do you use? twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIN, Google+, something else???
- When do you read blogs? Whenever you find them, at a specific time? do you use an RSS feed like Google Reader?
- What can I do to make my “home base” (johnmarkharris.net) better?
- What topics would catch your interest?
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