Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. TikTok. Pinterest. LinkedIn. YouTube.
In the world we live in, it’s rare to find someone who doesn’t have at least one social media account. However, many of us use these accounts for personal use like sharing family photos or fun videos with friends. However, you can use social media for your business too, and that includes authors!
Consider setting up social media accounts as you prepare to launch your book. Your main website can host the links to all your accounts so your audience has multiple ways to connect with you. I would suggest that you keep your personal accounts separate from your author account. Set up a professional account so you can also view analytics for your posts to improve your marketing strategy.
But, what if you never really spent time on social media or an amateur when it comes to technology? Is it hard to learn? Absolutely not! Anyone can learn social media and no one has to be a professional to get the most out of the platform. Many authors learn along the way and honestly, it’s all about trial and error. And if you’re super shy and don’t want to post videos or images of yourself, there is no rule that you have to. Illustrators set up social media accounts to post samples from their portfolio while business writers set up social media accounts to market their actual business. As long as you’re willing to give it a try, the only limit is your imagination and creativity.
Why get social?
There are a million reasons as to why you may not want to get into the social media frenzy. The biggest one is that social media can be a time suck. Many people (not just authors) spend countless hours on social media mindlessly scrolling or replying to messages. It’s easy to get lost in the endless scrolling. One click leads to the next click, leads to the next. You get the drift.
But, social media is a great cost-effective way to promote and market your book, plus, it’s also an excellent channel to showcase your author platform and your work in a fun and engaging way (especially to the younger audience).
Posting on social media is absolutely free. Yes, you may need training if you want to create engaging posts, or pay for an app if you want to schedule your posts, but with those aside, you can post on social media as many times as you want without flipping a dime.
Learning how to use social media to your advantage to engage with your audience and advertise your platform is a great skill to have. Using the right tags and connecting with like-minded people also benefit your marketing strategy. Plus, these social media channels also offer paid ads, so if you’re thinking of using social media to increase your book sales, then learning these features can be beneficial too.
The key is to know your target audience. It’s hard maintaining multiple social media platforms and engage actively in all of them. So, look at where your target audience enjoys hanging out or select 1-2 that you are most comfortable with. Post across all of your platforms when you have a big announcement like a new book. However, just focus on the 1-2 platforms on a daily basis an keep those accounts updated as best as you can.
Use social media to make announcements like giveaways or events. Offer special behind the scenes or bonus material by only posting it on your social media accounts. Provide excerpts of your book or post about related topics on your profile. Create videos that tell your audience what you represent and let them know what you have to offer.
Learning social media doesn’t have to be headache. Let me help make things easier whether you’re a beginner or intermediate. Contact me today to get started.