You might be asking, “But I’m a writer. Why do I have to be on social media?” Are authors allowed to use social media? Or how to promote my book. The short version is that if nobody knows about your book they won’t buy it. You need to highlight your work online, with all the stimulation that comes from the internet. Let’s look at 10 ways authors can promote their books using social media!
Table of Contents
Why should authors be on social media?
It’s like this: You have a great idea for a surfboard company. You take out a loan and put your heart and soul into it. Then you open your Kansas City store. You won’t be able to sell many surfboards unless you have a mail-order company. Your surfboards may not be good. You may not be selling any, but that’s because you don’t know your audience. Social media allows you to target and reach your audience.
You are not the only one who doesn’t find social media content easy to create. Writing requires you to spend a lot of time alone. It can be hard to transition into social mode after you have finished your book.
How to Promote a Book on Social Media?
This blog post will focus on how to promote your book via social media. People love to hang out on Facebook and there are many great book communities. These are the best outlets for book promotion. However, I will also mention other outlets.
Who are your readers?
Do you want to be a published author and sell 1,000,000 copies?
Great! That’s not uncommon for writers. No writer has ever said, “My readers are everybody”. They are aware of who their book is written for and target them in their book marketing.
Before you start thinking about what you will say, think about who it will be said to. After all, you don’t want to start a social network just for followers. Where can you locate your target readers?
Begin by following only the people you want to follow. Do not follow 5,000 people to see if they will follow you back.
Content Marketing
You can market content through your website, or any other social media platform. Although creating a page and engaging with your audience may be effective, it won’t be enough. If the content is not compelling people to read your book, it will not serve its purpose.
When your customers are made aware of your brand and their preferences, they will develop a personal connection with you. It should be concise and memorable. This will create a unique impression of your book and spark interest.
Choose Platforms That Will Serve Your Audience
- Instagram: Fantasy and visuals
- For older audiences, Twitter/Facebook
- LinkedIn is a great place to make professional connections.
Every social media platform is different. Although it might seem convenient to post your work everywhere, it is more efficient to target your audience.
Instagram and TikTok have a higher chance of reaching younger generations, and people who function visually. Twitter and Facebook will reach older audiences and those who prefer text-based content. You can promote your book online by choosing platforms that suit your goals.
Social media contests
It might be difficult to invite people to like your page or follow it if your account is only a few days old. If you create a buzz about your request and push them to take action, they might ignore it. This is where Facebook, Instagram or Twitter contests can help.
What about giving out a signed copy? In exchange for their comments, offer a chapter or freebie in return. Encourage them to tag and share with friends.
Offering freebies is one of the best ways you can increase your social media reach. Freebies are the best thing in life. People are often happy to receive freebies and are more open to receiving them.
You could also run an online contest and the winner will receive a book from you.
Create a social calendar
Social media should not be random. “I’ll post whenever I feel like it” isn’t the right way to go. It should be planned. You will add to the conversation at times, which is fine. You should schedule at least one tweet per day and two posts per week on Instagram or Facebook.
It helps to make your schedule thematic. Mondays can be used to tweet quotes and Tuesdays for reviewing posts, etc. You can avoid social media writer’s block by knowing what type of post you will be publishing on any given day.
View Photo proofs
Credibility is essential. You don’t just want to get likes, but you also need to live up to the goals of your marketing campaign.
Post pictures of people acknowledging your book can visually show your authorship. Once photo proofs are circulated online, this will change the perception of your book and allow them to see how book-worthy it is.
Hashtags will always be
Social media has a powerful power: # is a prefix to any word. This builds brand recognition and encourages the creation of similar posts for every click.
They can see your book’s social media status, as well as the number of people who have acknowledged your work online.
Disney suggested that every Mickey Mouse picture posted on social media with #ShareYourEars would result in a $5 donation to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The campaign generated a lot of buzzes online and led to over $2 million in donations.
Shareable Content
Sharing your content with others is one way to make you more visible. You should post or tweet at least once per week. Make sure it is original and shareable. Recommendations are one place to start. But there are many other options: a controversial or funny statement that speaks directly to people, a photograph that tells a story, and an infographic.
Different Content on Different Platforms
There are many ways to make social media marketing seem lazy. You can do this by posting the same content to Twitter as Facebook.
Are you so mad? It’s a good thing, in a word: Yes.
You should update your message on every network. People who use Twitter regularly are different from those who use Facebook. Your message must be changed. Before you post, make sure that you are familiar with the social media platform.
Use Twitter Analytics
Twitter is a powerful social media platform, but it can also be very fickle. A tweet could get a lot of attention and retweets.
On the other hand, you might get backlash if your tweet backfires. You can check your Twitter analytics to see which tweets had the greatest impact.
If you want to increase the effectiveness of your Facebook social networking campaign, you must get to know your followers. You will be more able to respond to the needs of your followers if you know them better. This is best done by checking your Facebook analytics.
Conclusion
You should be able to identify the most cost-effective ways to market your work via social media. You should use caution and good judgment when using social media platforms, especially if your name or product is being promoted.
