Build Your Brand On Social Media In Just 12 Minutes a Day

Building your brand on Social Media in just 12 minutes each day takes a consistent message, good listening skills and knowing how to best utilize your time. It is also important to realize that you don't have to be on EVERY single social media outlet to build a strong brand and following. First, take 4 minutes on Twitter to review your messages, retweet interesting content, post your own content and extend your thank yous. Having a consistent brand message is critical to your success. I like to use a list of twitter friends who post content that supports my message to pull from quickly and easily.

Second, take 4 minutes for Facebook. Read your comments and reply back to your followers. Always post an update that is like a headline. Review headlines in magazines, newspapers or online publications to give your brand a strong punch. Don't be a copycat--make sure your headlines are your own and use them to promote your message and build your brand to success.

Third, spend 2 minutes on Pintrest to pin 1-2 items and leave a few comments on posts you like. Next, follow back your followers. There are 5 great reasons that you should not ignore Pintrest. 1) You can learn a lot about what people are responding to by seeing what is being repinned. 2) There are lots of women on Pintrest--in fact, 80% of Pintrest users are women. 3) Pintrest is an awesome place to display photos of your wares, quotes, books and social media knowledge. 4) Group boards can be used to increase your brand and message exposure to more people. 5) Use Pintrest because it's FUN-it's like shopping without spending money!

Fourth, spend 2 minutes each day on your blog posting, promoting and writing. Your blog is a way to get your message out and it needs to be updated regularly with new information. Blogging is free AND it links ALL your social media accounts in one place!

There are many other ways to promote your brand on social media including LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram etc. You can add some or all of these depending on what your brand needs. Use your time wisely as it's better to be AMAZING in 3-4 areas than so-so in 8-10 areas. Balance is key to a success in social media and more importantly, in life.

Who is Jessica de la Davies: Jessica de la Davies is an award winning writer and author of "Slippery When Wet!"--rated 5 Stars on Amazon.com. She can be found on twitter at and on Pintrest at Both @DaviesWriter *Her hobby is lint!

Create Twitter Lists To Build INFLUENCE

Twitter lists can be used in a number of different ways to help you build social media influence by putting out excellent content to attract and retain quality followers. It’s not the number of followers that you have, but the quality of these followers that count the most.

Here are four ways that your lists can help you build your social media influence: 1) Keep a private list of people who post terrific content that your followers will be interested in reading and retweet this information from the list straight out to your followers. This saves you valuable time searching through your timeline trying to figure out what to post and ensures consistent excellence in your postings. With only 140 characters, the quality of each message in your post is important.

2) Keep a list of people who retweet you often, mention you often and/or a list that contains followers you want to thank. For example, you can have a “Gratitude For Following” list to thank new followers or a “Thx For Retweet” list as a special thank you for those people who are kind enough to retweet your posts. Don’t forget to Retweet them or thank them in return.

3) Keep a list of people who YOU value as top influencers on social media. This allows you to easily view their tweets for a few minutes each day. By replying and adding valuable information, quips or links into the conversation, you can build loyal, caring relationships with people who YOU value the most.

4) Keep a list of people who have conversations or discussions that you enjoy participating in and Retweet, reply and comment during these. This keeps the “social” in social media and keeps it fun for all involved-especially YOU!

Use your lists to build up your social media influence. Your goal should be to make social media fun and engaging for both yourself and, more importantly, for your followers.

About Jessica de la Davies: Jessica de la Davies is an award winning writer and author. Her book “Slippery When Wet!” is rated 5 stars on Amazon.com. She is on twitter at or on Pintrest at @DaviesWriter ---- Her hobby is lint!

To #Hashtag or not to #Hashtag...That is the Question

There are differing opinions on whether or not to use a hashtag on social media. Here are the pros and cons: Pros: 1) Using hashtags allows people to find the information they are searching for. For example, if I am looking for some editing tips from a fellow writer on twitter then I simple type in #editing and poof-I have tips from a variety of different sources. 2) Using hashtags allows others to know what your social platform is. For example, if I use #amwriting people know that I write. You get the idea! 3) Using hashtags lets people know what your link is. Is it a photo, a website... a blog? For example, if you have a blog that you are trying to promote, adding #blog lets people know what that particular link is.

Cons: 1) Using hashtags takes up precious twitter space. When you only have 140 characters and your hashtag #amwriting it eats up other peoples' opportunity to retweet your post. 2) Using hashtags clutters up your message. If you are only using it to put #quote then you may want to leave it off so more people can retweet your quote giving you great exposure to new people.

#Hashtags cuts both ways as for me, I use them and figure that people can delete them if they need space to write or retweet my post on Twitter or Pintrest. About Jessica de la Davies:

Jessica de la Davies is an award winning writer and author of "Slippery When Wet!" rated 5 stars by Amazon.com. She loves twitter and can be found at http://www.twitter.com/DaviesWriter and Pintrest at http://www.Pintrest.com/DaviesWriter -- Her hobby is lint!

Build Your Social Media Platform & They Will Come!

Building a social media platform is about posting content that you think is interesting and that others will find interesting. Good art provokes a reaction. Post something provocative. This will serve you in four important ways that will garner you attention on Social Media: • It will provoke a discussion about your posts among others and garner you attention for your social media attention. Just be sure that the topic you post will attract the type of followers you want. Good art provokes. Good writing provokes. Good social media provokes-get the reaction!

• Your provocative posts will help you garner extra interactions with your followers and lead to discussions so be sure you are familiar with the topics you select to post. You want to write about what you know.

• If people are discussing your post, it will lead to reposting, blogging or retweeting of your material which will increase your exposure to new people and build your influence.

• Post with a photo or photos when possible. They say “a picture speaks a thousand words” and since on a social media forum like twitter you have only 140 characters, you want to make the most of each post.

Ask yourself, what makes you stand out from everyone else. Use this to drive your brand (which is your business or you) and build up your following.

About Jessica de la Davies: Jessica de la Davies is an award winning writer and author of “Slippery When Wet!” a chick lit novel that has received 5 star ratings on Amazon.com. She is a twitter lover http://www.twitter.com/DaviesWriter and a self-proclaimed Pintrest addict at http://www.Pintrest.com/DaviesWriter -Her hobby is lint!

The Three Golden Rules of Twitter

Like any form of social media, Twitter has it's rules. Here are three of the most important ones: One: Tweet others as you want to be Tweeted. I don't think this needs any big explanation, do you? If so, you are invited to post a comment below. In fact, post a comment even if you don't want to add an explanation. :)

Two: Twitter is a two-way street. Acknowledge your followers who are retweeting or socializing with you in some kind of manner within a reasonable time period. You can do this by saying thank you, retweeting them in return, mentioning them in a weekly or bi-weekly tweet, replying to them directly or by marking their post to you as a "favorite" tweet. This lets your followers know that you are also engaged with them. Your social media relationship goes both ways.

Three: Don't ever spam. If you are promoting something, for example, I have a book released right now, then mention this fact no more than one out of five tweets. Also, do not direct message someone a sales pitch. It is considered bad taste to do this right away. Instead, tweet a welcome to your new follower or simply follow back. Also, it's interesting to read other people's tweets, check out their bios and visit their websites. Be engaged and be engaging! Good luck and see you on twitter. I'm @DaviesWriter and I love Pintrest too

Please leave your comments below.

5 Steps For Getting More Quality Twitter Followers

Here are five easy tips for increasing your twitter following with QUALITY followers. Step One: Follow people who are similar to you. The reason for this is that these followers will be more likely to take an interest in what you are posting. This will help you in three ways. First, these followers are more likely to follow you back. Second, they are more likely to read your tweets. Third, they may even retweet your tweets to their followers giving your more exposure to potential followers. Hooray!

Step Two: Follow people back. It is frustrating to be thanked by someone for following them and then not be followed back. Companies especially need to follow back since they obviously are building a brand and brand loyalty. You are more likely to build a loyal following of people who care about your content and care about your company or you if you follow back.

Step Three: Tweet content that can be retweeted. This involves a couple of things. One, you need to use less than 120 of your 140 twitter characters so someone else has room to add their name and RT to your tweet. Two, you should post some content that your followers will want to retweet to their followers such as a quip, quote, blog post or picture.

Step Four: Retweet others who post content that is of value or interest to your followers. Your followers may retweet your posts in return or say thank you. Now, you are networking with others to increase your success and their success!

Step Five: Don't ask someone to "Like" your Facebook page, buy your product, vote for you for an award or give you a shout out the first time you tweet them. It is more polite to say hello and introduce yourself. Take some time to build relationships with your friends on twitter-it's social media-and considered "SPAMY" by most people on twitter. Be engaging, be social...be a success on twitter!

Best of luck on Twitter and you are welcome to join me on twitter @DaviesWriter -- I look forward to meeting/tweeting you soon!

Jessica de la Davies is an award winning writer. Her novel "Slippery When Wet!" is out and Amazon has rated it 5 Stars. She is working on her next novel "Quit It Some More" which is due to be released in August of 2014. Her hobby is lint!

Things not going right? Just write. _ Jessica de la Davies - Author, Writer & Social Med...

From The Desk Of Jessica de la Davies: Jessica de la Davies - Author, Writer & Social Med...