As a Press Intern this summer, it has been my job to improve and update our social network, meaning that I’ve been responsible for reaching out to the community in an online capacity. If you’ve seen our Pinterest boards, been followed on Twitter, or have had your page liked on Facebook, it was most likely me.
But what does this mean for the Press in an official capacity? Social networking is away to reach out to people like you who share the same interests, maybe have the same sense of style, or have the same or similar goals, but may not be in the same physical area you are. Social networking is a way to reach out and expand your following, and in turn, expand the following of others.
Social networking allows us to get our name out there, and once they’ve heard our name, they learn of our interests, goals, mission, and purpose, and maybe we fill a unique need for the individual, and can then form a relationship that is mutually beneficial.
But how does Pinterest expand our business? Pinterest is basically an online corkboard where you “pin” pictures, which serve as links, of your interests, hobbies, hometown, future wedding, anything. At the Press, our mission includes expanding research in local culture, which is the region of Appalachia. So one of our Pinterest boards is titled “Appalachia”, and includes pins with pictures of local authors, books, scenery, and basically anything related to the Appalachian region.
But we are a Press, so we release books and other publications, and are therefore interested in anything relating to books, and since everyone enjoys a little humor, we have “Grammar Fails” and “Grammar Fun” as boards, too. “Children’s Lit” is a way to reach out to moms of young kids and get them interested in books and the world around them, which will encourage them to expand their research of the world, and maybe we in turn can publish that research.
Check out our many boards here, and follow us so we can follow you, and we can all expand our networks.
Twitter is another way we stay connected to people, other Presses, and the world of books. We follow local bookstores, as well as other University Presses and their editors, local authors, and anyone else related to books, education, or Appalachia. We follow their “tweets” to learn what is going on in their business, and we “tweet” to let other people know what all is happening at the Press. Tweets are limited to 140 characters, so Twitter is a great way to get a lot of updates without having to wade through too many words to get to the heart of the matter.
You can follow our updates on Twitter here.
Most people nowadays are on Facebook, so we reach out there as well. We “like” the pages of authors and artists we’ve published, as well as pages of book festivals, local literary people and businesses, and other bookish stuff. Once we like a page, their updates show up in our newsfeed, but with more details than Twitter, not being limited to 140 characters, so it is a more in-depth update. We also provide links to our blog posts, or online articles that we find interesting.
Please find us and like us on Facebook so you can stay updated with all things UPNGa related.
The Press is also on Goodreads, a website designed to link authors and readers, and readers to readers, so you can find that next favorite book. We are friends with students of our associated university, NGCSU, as well as many of our Twitter followers. Goodreads is a way to follow blogs from authors, see what your friends are reading, and let the world know what you’re working on, too. As a relatively new member, we are still working up our profile, account, friends list, and our books.
Please friend us on Goodreads by finding our profile here.
The last way we keep in touch through social media is right here, our blog. Updated on a regular basis, this is the best way to keep people updated with what’s going on here and in the world of publishing. We use the blog as the basis for a lot of posts through our social networks, we pin the link to Pinterest, we Tweet the link on Twitter, we post on Facebook, and we’ve also got a permanent link to our website on Goodreads.
Social networking is a way to keep in touch with your profession by ever-expanding your contacts and followers. In this day and age where everything is found online, having a good online presence is essential to businesses and their success, as well as maintaining positive relations with the people the company works with. So we keep pinning, tweeting, and posting for our benefit, as well as yours. We like to keep in touch with our followers, because ultimately, you will be the readers, and the readers are who keep us in business.