Social Media Marketing

When it comes to marketing social media can be a fickle friend. Worse, there are no hard and fast rules for dealing with social media, so you need to develop your own rules. In that spirit, here are some considerations.

1. Don't just advertise your comic. You don't want to be seen as a spammer, so you need to talk to these people every so often. Post funny pictures, make comments on other people's posts, and basically have some fun with the other people. Become friends with them in more than the sense that you have them on your friend/follower list; actually post things that have nothing to do with your comic. And comment on what you see; you want people to do the same for you, right? So do it for them, even if it's just a like every so often.
2. Be aware that game friends are unlikely to pay attention to your non-game posts. There are exceptions to this rule, but your gaming friends are unlikely to do more then want your gifts. This is not to say that you should not have any gaming friends, just be aware that they rarely add to your ability to market your comic.
3. Respond to friend requests as quickly as possible. The general rule is that you should respond within a day or two. This is just a matter of courtesy if nothing else. You can be selective; if I can't see anything in common with someone else, I am unlikely to reciprocate. This is not because I'm a mean person; I just have 5000 slots and I want people who I can talk to. Twitter followers are different; just because someone is following you does not mean you need to follow them, although it's not a bad idea, and it's not like there is a limit.
4. The big fish aren't as good as you think. Just because someone has 4000 friends on Facebook does not make them any more desirable than someone who only has 40. If anything, I would prefer the one with only 40 sometimes; they are likely to be more active, and so are more likely to check out your posts. Also, they are unlikely to have many friends in common with you as the guy with 4000, and too much overlap is a bad thing. If we know the same 2500 friends, the remaining 1500 are unlikely to be interested in what I'm doing, and most of those friends are unlikely to be very active.
5. Don't be afraid to drop someone who is obnoxious. I've been dropped a lot because of my religious convictions, and because I will defend my points, sometimes a little too strongly. I sort of expect to be dropped a lot, and I can deal with that. Social media should be people that you like to hang out with. Keep that in mind when someone starts putting a lot of posts on your wall that you find offensive.
6. It bears repeating, so: You are not required to keep as friends or accept friend requests from people you find offensive. I have a wide variety of friends, and I really hope no psychologist ever sees my friend list; he's going to think I have some serious MPD issues. But that's me; I still drop people who are too strong about advertising their beliefs, I hate spammers, and I really hate people that friend me just to friend me. Sooooo...Yeah, I drop people all the time.
7. Post new content. Don't just post the same thing everyone else is posting, but occasionally post your own content. And I'm not talking your own comic, but stuff from other sites you see. Or make your own inspirational images. Something. Just don't limit your posts to commenting on other's posts, sharing the same images, and your own links, okay?
8. Don't feel obligated to share or comment on every post on your wall. If you have enough followers, it will drive you nuts. For that matter, don't feel bad if you occasionally miss a post or so. Heck, don't feel bad if you miss several hours of posts. If you worry about the missing posts, then you will go insane. So don't! If someone really wants to get in touch with you, they can message you. You are not Lucy or Ethel packaging chocolates! Don't sweat the small stuff.
9. Join groups! I'm not saying join every club on Facebook that has even the slightest link to what you are interested in. Just a few, like half a dozen tops. You want to join groups for added visibility and to get messages out to people who are not on your list; groups also provide a forum for you to talk about topics and get advice. Groups rock! So join some, but not a lot.
10. Go outside once in a while. My morning constitutional is just an excuse to get out of the house. You need sunlight for a number of reasons, like Vitamin D production. So get out! Your computer will be there when you get back, you can miss messages, and you can feed your addictions when you get back. Just get out now!

I hope these tips help calm nerves, and lead to a much healthier lifestyle. The next level up is suggesting you get rid of all electronics, and I really don't want to go that far....