Folks, try not to get too attached to your social media channels. I had almost 50,000 followers on Google+ and it all went away when they gave up. Hang out, be real, connect on other platforms. I've known multiple people over the years who lost accounts with no backup.
And by that I mean their entire business model was just the one social media channel. Above all else build out a newsletter and, if you can, a website or free blog. Imagine being in this game for a decade or two and having to start over from scratch!
The moral is: don't just back up your files. Back up your brand identity. Have some folks locally or regionally that you run with. Join organizations or start a creative support group. Do outreach and education at libraries and schools.
You needn't put the same effort into all things; try to have 3 main places you focus on daily, a couple that are weekly/monthly, and just try to exist in the other spaces in case things blow up--and to prevent somebody else registering there with your preferred handle.
If you can, be strategic…your tweets lead to your secondary profile like Soundcloud/LibraryThing/Shopify, which leads to your blog/newsletter, etc. If you can do that, great, if not get started now and add components to the chain as you go.
I meet so many people who don't start because they're not ready to post 5 times a day and buy ads on the platform right away. It's just like every freelance endeavor: you don't wait to compose a novel or album or art installation until it's going live, right? Little steps.
Having said all that, any new(ish?) social media channels you're excited about and think people should be using? Please share your thoughts! Thanks in advance.
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