Today we’re going to talk about social media. UGH.

Really. Just…ugh.

It’s a necessary evil, and even entertaining a lot of the time, but the truth is it takes time and energy and focus that you’d really rather be putting toward your writing, if you had your ‘druthers. Still, there are great tools out there that help you build and engage with your audience, and you’re a fool if you don’t take advantage of them.

Here are a few resources that have really helped me as I navigate my way through the social media maze:

The Social Media Cheat Sheet – INCREDIBLY helpful guide to picture sizes and formatting constraints on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

5 Low-Cost Social Media Marketing Strategies for Authors – Great if you don’t have a lot of money to throw at a marketing program.

102 Hashtags Smart Writers Are Using – I started using some of these faithfully and doubled my Twitter following with people solidly in my target demographic very quickly.

17 Tools That’ll Take Your Social Media Marketing To The Next Level –  A list of various downloads and apps that can help you with content and scheduling.

Dan Pearce’s 100 Blogging Tips – Dan is a blogger with a strong viral presence, and his tips are spot-on if you want to build and engaging blog.

Now go forth and be retweeted, reblogged, liked, pinned, hashtagged and hopefully…read!