Social Media Branding Tips for Authors Pt.2

Social media marketing for authors & writers continued…

Social media marketing is a slow process. It takes time to build followers. Anyone that says they can boost your followers to an unbelievable number is either scamming you, or it is a temporary fix. Those people that follow you on Wednesday may unfollow you on Thursday. Your followers did increase, but it was fleeting. Besides, how many of them will really be buying your book, and isn’t  that what this is all about? Improve your sales and readership? The best way to increase followers is “word of mouth,” so to speak. By “earning” those followers, they will be more loyal, genuinely interested in your posts/books, and be more likely to encourage others to follow you, thus increasing your sphere of influence and sales.

ENGAGE: Take the time to interact with your followers and those you follow. Have conversations with them online. Reply to their posts/Tweets. Retweet their messages. Like their posts. Get involved in the discussion. Be friendly.

Social media marketing for authors & writersDON’T SELL, SELL, SELL! A great analogy is going to a party. If you just stand in a corner and hand out business cards and say “Buy my book!” people will start to avoid you. If you are at a party and you are funny, entertaining, intelligent, educational, INTERESTING – people will begin to gather around you organically. The more value you bring to your social media accounts, the more people will gravitate toward you.

SELL OCCASIONALLY: Common wisdom is about 1 out of 4 or 5 posts should be some (unique) promotion for your book. We would recommend it be no more than 1 out of every 7-8. It’s okay to slip in a promo for your latest creation occasionally, but don’t make that the focus of your social media accounts. Some authors get so caught up in being good Internet citizens they forget to promote their book or brand. It happens.

CROSS-PROMOTE: It is also okay to recommend another writer or story to your followers, without any mention or thought of compensation or return the favor. If someone you know suggests a book to you, you are much more likely to pick it up than if you just happen to stumble across it. Promoting other books and authors (usually in your genre) is a great way to make a connection with your followers. It also encourages other authors to promote you.

Social Media Stats

  • 83% of Women & 75% of Men Use Facebook
  • 79% of users are college graduates (Facebook)
  • 82% have taken some college (Facebook)
  • 77% finished high school or less (Facebook)
  • Youtube has 1.5 billion monthly active users
  • WeChat has 889 million monthly active users
  • Instagram has 700 million monthly active users
  • Twitter has 328 million monthly active users
  • Snapchat has an estimated 255 million monthly active users