Social Media Panic? Chill!

Just when you feel comfy-cozy with your platform efforts, something happens--like say Blogger goes offline for three days--and uneasiness sets in. Every new blog you head to seems to be powered by Wordpress. Someone mentions their site got tons of hits from StumbleUpon, and you don't even know what StumbleUpon is or how it's used.

Panic sets in.

All of your hard efforts now look shabby, worn, as out of date as pinafores. You wonder if you should switch to Wordpress even though you may lose many of your followers. You consider looking into StumbleUpon and Tumblr and a shiny new Facebook Page.

The panic morphs to stress.

Can I just say "Stop the Insanity!"? (Anyone else remember Susan Powter's work-out mantra?)

I realize we all want to do the right things--the smart things--to grow our platforms, and maybe switching to a different blog service or learning a few more social networks is the right thing to do. But I'm not going to, and here's why.

Jill Kemerer Opinion alert!!

Blogger has been good to me. It's free, simple to use, and terrific for networking. I've made countless connections through its use of Google Friend Connect, Blogrolls, and ease of subscribing. My pages load quickly, and I love how simple it is to post and update. It's a gem for non-technical bloggers. (Disclaimer: I've never used Wordpress, but it has terrific features also.)

As far as the slew of other promotional sites like DiggIt, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, and such--I'm sure they're fabulous. I, however, took a hard look at my schedule, realized I have too much on my plate right now, and won't be utilizing them. Will it hurt my platform? I don't think it will.

The bottom line?

It's easy to feel competitive with other authors, but jumping on every bandwagon doesn't necessarily help our platform or fit into our life. Does the average reader find our book if it's been Stumbled? Will the reader buy more books if our website looks more up-to-date? Will the reader find our blog quicker if we use Wordpress or Blogger? I can't answer these questions. I don't know.

I do know that search engines find my blog without any problem. My website and blog are the first things that pop up if you type my name into search engines. I'm easy to find on Facebook and Twitter. And that's good enough for me.

There isn't one best way to build a platform.

Do what you're comfortable with. Weigh the benefits and costs of any major decision, whether it's switching blog services or trying a new social media network. But most of all, sit back and chill. We're building name recognition, not saving the world! (My apologies to you if you are saving the world. I'm writing romance novels. Big difference. :)

Do you ever feel pressure to expand your platform? How do you react?

Enjoy your Friday!

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