How To Become a Great Supporter on and off Social Media… namely Twitter! @NonnieJules @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA

Hello Twitter!  Hello Facebook!  Hello all you other fantastically, engaging social media forums (many of which I’m not familiar with at all).  Lastly, hello to all you wonderful people who utilize these mediums with great success.

Since the inception of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and numerous other social media forums, we are now living in an age of unlimited ways to market ourselves, our products, our life, and everything about, and around us. (I, for one don’t think this over-sharing of information is at all safe or a good idea, by the way.  I use social media STRICTLY for marketing and business purposes only).

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “I will never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be.”  What does that mean to you?  Well, to me it means that we all need one another and that if I am to reach my highest potential, I cannot stand and look down on you, step over you, or leave you behind on my own journey to success.  I have to lift you up, propel you, and even let you stand on my shoulders if need be, so you can reach your highest potential, because once again, I can’t be truly successful until you are truly successful… my equal, standing right beside me.  Repeat after me: I AM MY BROTHERS KEEPER!  It would do some well to remember this.

If you’re on social media, I am all for you tooting your own horn.  You guys already know this… I write about it, I tweet about it, I live it.  But, we also need to realize that “spreading the wealth, sharing someone else’s word,” is also the way to get us where we need to be.

I like to think of myself as being a great supporter of others.  I work hard at it.  It’s extremely important to me that we all succeed, because something inside of me cannot truly feel successful, if you aren’t just as successful.

So, if you aren’t already, here is how you too, can become a GREAT SUPPORTER of others, on and off social media… namely Twitter.

TOOT YOUR OWN HORN, BUT TOOT THE HORN OF OTHERS, AS WELL:  It’s ludicrous to think that as authors, artists, musicians, etc., that we are not going to tell the world about what we do.  That’s crazy!  I, for one, am definitely not working as hard as I do to sit quietly and not share with the world my hard work.  BUT, I know that there are others who are working just as hard, just as tirelessly as I am to get their work out to the masses, too, so I spend as much time tooting the horn of others as I do my own.

DON’T JUST RT TWEETS THAT CONTAIN YOUR OWN HANDLE – RT THE WORK OF OTHERS, AS WELL:  When it comes to Twitter, I have noticed that some only RT tweets that contain their @TwitterHandle/name in them.  These people don’t take the time to RT anything having to do with someone else’s work or message, and if you peruse their timeline, you will know exactly what I’m talking about.  These people are self-serving, and ONLY care about themselves.  Some might think, “Oh, they’re a great supporter because they’re RTing me…” but when you look a little closer, you’ll find that they weren’t supporting you at all, they were supporting themselves.  I say again, take a look at their timeline and see if you can find any tweet or RT that’s not about them or doesn’t have their handle in it.   (And FYI, if I’ve supported those people, it wasn’t for long. I have a very keen eye for things like this, and I do take notice.  I have no desire to support those who are only out for themselves).

TAKE TIME TO ACTUALLY READ A TWEET OR CLICK A LINK BEFORE YOU RT IT.  Unless it’s someone I’m very familiar with on Twitter, I don’t just randomly RT people’s tweets that contain links.  As I’ve stated in a previous blog, I want to ensure that what I’m sharing with my little corner of the world, is positive and useful.  I don’t want to blindly RT a tweet that might be laced with hate or something that’s inciting hate.  So, take the time to actually “know” what you’re sharing with the world before you share it.  It only takes a minute to do so.

TAKE THE TIME TO ACTUALLY SUPPORT THE EFFORTS OF OTHERS.  When my Twitter friends/peers share something with me asking for my support, I take a look at it and typically offer my support right away.  Going back to the above tip, ACTUALLY TAKE THE TIME TO READ WHAT OTHERS ARE SHARING WITH YOU INSTEAD OF BEING SO QUICK TO HIT THE RT BUTTON.  Support is more than just retweeting or sending out tweets, for that matter.  Please remember that.

ESTABLISH AND NURTURE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACTS OFF-LINE, AS WELL AS ON.  I have a handful of Twitter friends that I talk to over the phone on a very regular basis.  I met each of these wonderful people on Twitter and we felt comfortable enough to take the connection off-line.  We mail each other things (personal birthday cards as well as sharing our  marketing material, etc.) for the purpose of us to continually support one another.  Here in Louisiana, I am spreading the word about my author friends who live in Detroit, California, Florida, Oregon, Canada, Australia, etc.  If I hand out calling cards for my books, I hand out their marketing material on their books, as well.  And by the same token, my cards, bookmarks, etc., are being shared in other parts of the world.  These may be people you never lay eyes on in your life, but you have established and nurtured that “friendship” well beyond the internet, and you can take comfort in knowing that the relationship is mutually beneficial.  Hence, you being a great supporter off-line as well as on.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR CORE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS/SUPPORTERS ON TWITTER, SO THAT WHEN THEY’RE ABSENT FOR A WHILE, YOU CAN CHECK IN ON THEM.  I tend to know who’s not been very active in my circle of people on Twitter and if I notice that someone’s been pretty quiet for a time, I run over to their timeline to see the last time they tweeted, and then I will ask if anyone’s seen them.  From there, I will continue to RT their professional (not personal) promos until they return.  (If you’d like to know why I mentioned “professional” promos, check out my blog WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU RETWEETING?!)

CONSTANTLY LOOK FOR WAYS TO SHOWCASE THE WORK OF OTHERS ON YOUR WEBSITES, YOUR BLOGS, IN YOUR OWN WORK, etc.  If you’ve spent any amount of time on my blog, you will notice that I have established all sorts of avenues to support my fellow authors such as a list of great reading material written by great authors, and so much more.  Under the acknowledgements page of my first novel,  I list the Twitter handles of all my supportive Twitter and FB friends, as well as anyone who has supported me in any way.  “WHY do these things?” some have asked.  Well, when I first embarked on a blog tour as a new author, it was difficult to find others who were willing to host me.  Some said to me, “I only host my friends.” (Give me a break.  Are you kidding?  Are we still in 4th grade where we only play with our special friends?).  Let me get back on track.  I didn’t want anyone else having the struggles I had as a new author or even just being new to social media, so when I host events or promote other authors, it’s always with the intent of connecting people so that their communities and circles of support are ever-widening.  Honestly, I spend more time promoting the work of others than I do my own (maybe one day a hard ball is going to hit me upside the head and bring me back to my senses…lol… I don’t know) but I do it because I know that there is enough success for us all, and because life is so short, why not spend yours spreading kindness and happiness around your tiny corner of it?

So, there you have it, people.  If you want to become a great supporter on and off social media… namely Twitter, start to implement the tips I’ve listed above and you’ll be well on your way to being recognized as a GREAT SUPPORTER!

And remember…we’re all birds of a feather, so let’s flock and stick together!

Before you leave, do you have any tips that you use to make yourself stand out as a great supporter on social media?  We could never have too many, so please share.

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• Tagged: blog, Facebook, Nonnie Jules, Social media, Support, Twitter