Solo or Threads - Posting In Vocal Facebook Groups

There are many Facebook Vocal Support Groups and all have there own particular benefits to members and leaders. What makes these groups work is user interaction.

They are great to drop your current and older or updated Vocal posts in to allow people to read and comment on your work. But always remember there needs to be give and take in these groups, if you want reads and feedback , you need to give reads and feedback. It cannot be a one way system.

Vocal Social Society

Although a number of groups were set up to bring Vocal users together I am stealing Courtney Capone’s remarks that Lesley Anne and her companions blew the whole thing apart with the format of Vocal Social Society. This was the first Vocal Group to stop Solo threads (except for exemptions decided by Administrators) and drive the group on themed threads.

These threads are based on individual or small groups of Vocal Communities and are repeated with four posts each week. There is also a Sandbox thread for “anything else”. This control makes the group very easy to negotiate but some people take issue with the fact that you cannot do solo posts. This limitation keeps the group very tidy and easy to follow.

Because threads are themed you get some great , closely themed posting and commenting.

This has been picked up by other groups to a lesser extent , but personally I find the themed thread concept extremely good for reading.

The group also has special threads such as the Wishing Well , ;looking after people who are under pressure and min fictions which are fun to enter.

Lesley split off Challenge related posts to a new group Great Incantations , which keeps Vocal Social Society compactly themed and usable for both users and creators and allows Solo Posts as well as threads as long as they are Challenge related. Another example of keeping groups compact and easy to negotiate.

This is the group mission statement:

“Our society is dedicated to engagement and encouragement of writers along with showcasing content for readers interested in a multitude of stories. Our goal is to build a strong community of readers and writers who not only share together, but also support and provide quality feedback for each other.”

Vocal Creators Support Group

This is run by Judey Kalchik and uses a mix of solo posts with themed daily threads , plus extra themed collaborative initiatives such as the Vocal Cooks Collective. These are great for bringing people together for common projects.

This is the intro to the group mission statement:

“Vocal Media is a site for content creators. It provides a platform, exposure, and an income stream.

That income will vary wildly based on readership of the content.

Vocal Media has a robust Resources tab for those willing and able to put in the time and effort to use the platform fully.

What it does not (currently) have is a method to provide feedback to creators on their content.

This group is open to Creators and the Public.”

Vocal Writers Sharing Community

This is a group started by Courtney Capone and to be honest , for me it’s like jumping into a box of fireworks after someone has thrown a couple of lit matches in there. Like the Vocal Creators Support Group is has a mix of Solo Posts and Themed threads , but that is just the start. Courtney initiates lots of competitions , and this results in lots of reads for peoples posts. I seriously don’t know where she finds the time and energy. But dropping in there is a great literary ride and you never know what is going to happen.

The group has a clear concise mission statement

“This group is for writers on Vocal Media to share their work and improve their read stats.”

These are three groups that I have chosen to try and illustrate the benefits and drawbacks of solo versus threaded posting. Though this post has a link to all the groups I subscribe to and post in. Check them all out and see which model works well for you.

Solo Posts

These must be their own selling point, or else you are unlikely to get any reads or interaction. I often have to do this when I cannot find a thread to add my post to , and I obviously solo post on my own timeline (usually resulting in zero feedback).

In the Vocal Groups these can get lost because they don’t necessarily fit into a defined community or theme, so if I see a solo post on Marriage I will probably just ignore it because it doesn’t interest me.

You need to get people to interact with Solo posts yourself so while they are much easier to share , you then need to find ways to promote them even further.

Posts On Themed Threads

These are maybe a little more difficult to do initially. You have to find a relevant thread. Once you do, however, your post is in very good company, because it will be common with others on that thread, and you will see others close by that are then easy to read and comment on.

Comments can bring people closer together and although it may seem a bit mercenary , this is more likely to end up with a read and half a cent in your Vocal Wallet.

My preference is for the themed thread , which is odd because I don’t like people telling me what to do or being forced to do things in a particular way.

The thing is that unless you read and comment ,not jus the thumbs up, we will not benefit from these amazing groups and the people who run and administer them essentially for the benefit of the members. They put in a lot of hard work , so a read and a constructive comment from us will make these groups go stratospheric if we put a little effort in.