Being Social With Your Fans

Part of every comics marketing strategy should contain some space on social media. One of the great things about it being innocuous is that you can't beat it for advertising: Since everyone is doing it, it means that you can get the word out on pretty much anything quickly. Better yet, it's free, it helps build your SEO profile, and it helps you build a network. However, you need to use it right, and that means that you need some sort of actual idea of what you're doing. 

 

Make Some Choices

There's a number of different social media platforms out there and you need to decide which is best for you. This is a decision you'll need to make on your own; there's just too many options. You need to find a platform that you feel comfortable with, that you can go on for at least an hour every other day or so, and that you honestly enjoy. You should have one or two that you focus on and a couple that you occasionally post on. The Top Five are:
Facebook: Pretty much the default, but also can take the most work. Try to split your groups between those you post your work on, those you can learn from, and those you can have some fun with. 

Instagram: Great for posting your more visual stuff on. Great for not only advertising but also inspiration and seeing what everyone else is up to. 

Pinterest: Pretty much the same. 

Twitter: All sorts of lightweight, but great for keeping in the loop and having fun. Also, remember to retweet and like to maintain your presence. 

Linkedin: A little old school, but worth it for the connections and career advice. Also, helps you keep track of industry news. 

Develop A Following

First off, make sure that you make an effort to fill out your profile as completely as possible. Make sure that all of the important information is there, and this is definitely the time to be serious. You need to keep in mind that this is something that you're doing for your business, and therefore the more serious you are the better. You may want to set up accounts for you and your company; this is not a bad idea, especially if your company has a number of different comics. 

 

Seriously debate setting  accounts for individual characters. While this can be a clever idea, it may be too clever; only do it if you're willing to put some serious effort into it. If you can put some serious effort into it then it can work, but you don't want to do it for more than one or two characters; as noted, it requires some serious work and without that work it's a waste of effort. Keep that in mind when you're debating setting up character accounts.

As far as the following, follow or send requests to 5-10 people each day. Also, make at least a few posts each day. Be helpful, play nice, and basically add to the conversation without being spamming; eventually, you should see your followers and friend requests start to increase.

Playing Nice With Others

The worst part of maintaining a social media account is interacting with others. Most writers are introverts; we hate having to deal with people when we don't absolutely have to. Making social media work, however, means having to deal with people. Worst, most of us wish we could be more Harlan Ellison when it comes to dealing with people: We would love to be the guy who's brutally honest and still loved for it, and if aren't then the person wasn't worth it in the first place.

 

People want to get to know you, and that's a good thing for you. People prefer to buy stuff from people they know; even if they hate the person, they prefer to buy from someone they hate rather than someone they don't know at all. This means that you need to post stuff that's important to you, no matter what others think. This is where you can post stuff that you find interesting, fun, or even important; this is an area where you have a voice beyond your art and you should take advantage of that.

 

With most forms of social media, this is pretty much limited to just posting new things every so often and reposting/replying to the posts of those you follow; basically, you're contributing by throwing things into the river of consciousness every so often. It sounds simple, but you need to keep in mind that you need to post more than just links to your stuff; you need to post something, anything that shows off your personality; people want to get to know you and this is your chance to do that. 

You also need to keep in mind that you can't afford to be diplomatic; you have to post things that are actually important to you. Too many people worry about offending others; you'll find that even if people hate you, they'll still friend and follow you if you have something interesting to say. As such, you can't afford to take the neutral ground; even if you're a moderate you need to take stands on things, something, and revel in it. If someone hates you and threatens you, then just block and/or report them; you don't have to listen to them. So if you want it to work, use social media to make a point, even if it's just that you like really bad movies.

What Does This Mean To You?
You want a way to market your comic and social media is a great to market it. You need to pick which platforms will work for and focus on them. Then you need to make sure that you use it to establish that you are an actual person; it may be cynical, but people will buy from people they know more than they will from they don't know and it's up to you to be one that they know, even if they hate you. Maintain your accounts by posting often and regularly, and you should be able to make social media work for you.