Social Media tips for Authors

After your book is published, it’s time to get all your hard work recognized. A great first step is hiring a book publicist to help your book marketing and book promotion efforts.

Social media can also be a valuable tool in book marketing. Social Media is the quickest way to interact with fans as well as potential fans of your work.  To help your book promotion via social media, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Find the best platform for you

The “power houses” in social media are Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, but there are many other platforms on the web and on handheld devices like Instagram.  Twitter seems to be a favorite way to reach the masses.  Twitter allows you to post short bursts of information frequently.

2. Post frequently but don’t overdo it!

You want to develop a following of people who care about what you post.  So posting frequently (1-2 times a day on Twitter and 2-4 times on Facebook) will keep your audience’s interest. Posting too frequently can be seen as overly “salesy,” bothersome, and just plain annoying! And in the long run, over-posting can cost you followers/fans.

3.Find a balance between promotion and engagement

While your purpose on social media is to promote your work, overtly promoting it can spell disaster! You need to give interesting information, something people will actually care about, and find ways to truly engage your followers and friends. If you come across as trying to sell something – your book – you will lose your audience … quickly. The exposure for your book comes from the information on your social media platforms, not by directly promoting. Books signings and special events are fine to post or tweet about, but just always be aware of how you are coming across.

4.Use #hash-tags

Almost every social media platform uses the hash-tag (#) as a tracking device for key words. By putting a hash-tag (#) in front of a word you, you are ranking that key word for searches.  When people search for that word your post will be displayed in the results and you can gain followers/fans. Do not overuse the hash-tag (#).

5.Keep at it

You are not going to get 1,000 followers/fans in a day but don’t be discouraged.  Just by posting on social media you are reaching more people than if you didn’t post. Try all the different platforms until you find your favorite.

 

We are on social media too!

Check out our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more.

 

by Brittney Karpovich, Marketing/Social Media Strategist for Smith Publicity