I Studied My 2019 Social Media Activity - Here's the Result

We all spend far too much time on social media - but what does it really do for us as writers? Well... when you can answer that question, let me know. What I do know (for the first time in all the years I've been using social media) is which 2019 posts actually spurred interaction.

Getting Personal

I was gobsmacked to learn that the largest percentage of reactions to my posts (a whopping 58%) resulted from the sharing of personal stories. Photos of myself (or me with family members), posts about childhood experiences, updates about my struggles and successes - those are the items that registered the most with my followers and by a long shot. These updates garnered 28% more responses than the next largest category of post.

I'm not, by nature, much of a self-marketer so it never crossed my mind that folks would want to know the "real Stephanie." Turns out I was wrong - and what a relief that is. Trying to be an "influencer" is way outside of my natural habitat. Glad to know I can just be me, and folks dig it.

Just Write - Don't Talk about It

A fairly substantial 30% of social media interactions came as a result of posts about writing or publishing. Good news because I really like sharing industry updates and thoughts about the writing process. Still, when you're a writer, most people who follow you already know it. Reminding the audience of this fact is both pompous and unnecessary. Most importantly, it's not information your general readership will slow their scroll for.

Save the Political Analysis

I try to be very, very sparse in my political posts because, quite frankly, it's a "no win" topic. And clearly, at 5% of my interactions, that's an accurate assessment on my part. In 2020, my goal is to politic even less.

It's Not News if No One Cares

Occasionally, I see a news story that I find fascinating. My assumption that others might share this enthusiasm is obviously misguided. At just a 4% interaction rate, my news stories fell on deaf ears in 2019. I'll probably still post stories about lost puppies and haunted grocery stories in 2020 - I just won't expect anyone to respond.

Ditch the Sales Pitch

The least surprising finding from my 2019 social media analysis is this one: save the sales pitch because 97% of your online community will ignore it. Which is okay, because promotion of my own books is my least posted kind of message. I'll certainly let followers know when a book is releasing, and I'll still post the occasional book giveaway. Other than that, I'll stick with the posts that share a little bit about who I am as a person. My statistics prove that's what my social media community really wants to read about.