I read with great interest a blog post by former literary agent Nathan Bransford, wherein he pointed out the Top Five Social Media Blunders you shouldn’t make. One of these blunders was about linking your Twitter and Facebook posts.
Writing Tip for Today: I’ve been teaching writers to link these accounts to combat the “social media will be a time-suck” complaint. Bransford says this isn’t a good thing. While the rest of his “blunders,” (don’t spam, don’t be a jerk, etc) seem right on, this link deal has me rethinking my position.

• If You Link. If you decide to link your Twitter and Facebook (or you already have), I really don’t think it’s the end of the world. I use my FB, Twitter and other sites as a way to increase my blog’s range. So each new post gets distributed via Networked Blogs. I don’t think this could be bad, unless you either never change your message or you write your posts in such a way that SCREAMS, “I don’t care about you, I just want you to buy something.”
• Personal Relationships Matter. Nobody wants to be dunned to buy or feel like they are only a customer. Social media is all about connecting with your audience, not beating it over the head. Be friendly, genuine and once you’ve established a relationship, I’ve found that books sell themselves.
• Get a Dashboard. Writers working to build platform can save time by signing up for a dashboard. TweetDeck is free and computer-based. Hootsuite can be free but for a small fee you can link more networks. Plus, Hootsuite is cloud-based, meaning all your stuff is on the web. Netvibe is another dashboard. You can post, blog or tweet from one place, without a bunch of sign-in screens. Maybe this is the best way to avoid a social media blunder in the first place. But please: Don’t spam and don’t be a jerk.