According to the statistics, 3.6 billion people worldwide (more than 50% of the world’s population) use Social Media. There has been a drastic change in the marketing landscape and how the product outreach is created. The usage of social media is at its peak, and so it is its use for marketing. In this drastically changing scenario, it is no different for the authors and their books as well.

Though social media might be considered a distraction from writing, it varies between authors depending on its usage. For an author, Social media is more than a distraction. It is a medium of building your audience, connecting to them, networking with fellow authors, a medium for book promotions, and it offers several other benefits. If used correctly, Social Media can potentially become your partner for book promotions and profile building.

There are several social media platforms, but Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the top choices due to their audience size and engagement possibilities. In this article, we share some of the basic social media tips for the new authors. These tips would help you use social media for profile & brand building and book promotions.

First, we share with you the tips on how to get started with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Then, under the ‘Other Tips’ section, we share the possibilities of other networks like LinkedIn, Snapchat, etc.

Let’s get started:

Facebook:

While some believe that the popularity of Facebook is shrinking, believe it or not! With 2.6 billion monthly users, Facebook is still the largest social media platform on the planet. Establishing your presence on Facebook would help in improving your discoverability. Since it is a high-ranking website across the internet, your page/profile will get reflected on top for keyword searches with your name or the name of your book on Google. Here is what you can do on Facebook:

Creating a Page:

While your Facebook profile might look sufficient, it is recommended that you create a Facebook Page to boost credibility. You can create an Author Page on Facebook and share content relating to your book/s. If you are planning for a series, you could also choose to create a page with the name of your book/series. It would make your series a brand in itself and build a following for the same. Here are some tips to make your Facebook effective:

- For your Page, add an appropriate profile picture. Preferably the headshot that appears in the book or any other close-up shot of yours.

- For the Page of your book, you can make an image with the book cover as the profile picture

- Add a quality Cover Art. Preferably, a quality image that speaks about your book along with the book cover in it. [You can either hire a graphic designer or make it yourself using platforms like Snappa or Canva]

- Add the link for the purchase of your book. The link to the Amazon listing of your book (or listing on any other site) or your Website link. Add other contact details like your email address to facilitate people to connect with you.

- In the About section, add a quality description about yourself as an Author (For Author Page) and a description of your Book/Series [For Book/Series Page]

Creating a Private group of Followers:

Once you have some readers for your book, create a Closed Facebook Group that is exclusively for the readers. Your readers would feel special; they will carry a sense of pride and connect better with you. What’s more? You could run giveaways and contests inviting a select group of people with access to the group as a reward. It would also create curiosity among the outsiders to the group. A Private Facebook Group would help build a community around your content.

Join Author-related Groups:

On Facebook, you would find many groups that are related to Authors. You could join those groups to connect with fellow authors, participate in or initiate discussions, and get some tips for your growth.

Join Relevant Groups where your audience is:

There are millions of Groups on Facebook. You can search for and choose the groups to join as per the target audience for your book. For example, if your book is related to Marketing, you will find thousands of groups related to Marketing & Marketers. Joining such groups can be beneficial in making your presence and creating awareness about your book. For Fiction books, you would find many groups with fiction lovers. Avoid spamming in the groups. Many groups have some strict norms to be followed, failing which, they might remove you from the group.

Post quality content with the right hashtags:

Post quality content around your book on your Facebook Page with hashtags that best describes your content. Managing your Facebook Page might get difficult as it requires consistent posting at a particular time-frame to engage your audience better. Tools like SocialPilot would come very handy as it enables you to schedule your posts in advance and enable you to focus on other aspects.

Twitter:

Twitter is home to more than 300 million monthly active users and a haven for Authors. You would find Authors of all Genres on this platform to connect with. Given the vast number of people on the platform, Twitter gives you an opportunity to market your book among relevant audiences.

With the huge popularity of Twitter globally, the chances are slim that you might not have heard about it and don’t yet have a profile. If you don’t, Never Mind! Late is better than never! Here are some basic tips on getting started with Twitter:

Create your profile: (If you don’t have one already)

Creating a profile on Twitter is super easy. You can sign yourself up or use an email account to sign in directly. Once signed in, you can proceed with the below:

Profile Picture: Preferably, add a quality picture of yourself that describes you the best. Whether or not, it is a headshot.

Profile Bio: Your profile bio speaks about you. Hence, make it relevant, apt, and as close to you as possible. If you are a Fiction Author, you can get creative with your bio. If you are a Non-fiction author; preferably, let your bio speak of your credibility to share your thoughts on the subject of your book (Your credibility directly transfers to the book). Twitter allows 160 characters for a bio, and hence, keep it brief.

Link: Add a link to your website or the listing on amazon/other marketplaces.

Cover Art: Similar to Facebook Page, a quality image that speaks about your book posted as a Cover Art can capture the visitor’s attention.

Tweets: Be authentic in your tweets. On Twitter, the audience appreciates authenticity. They would like to connect to and know you better as a person. You could do that by sharing your thoughts on the subjects around your book or trending topics. Your thoughts would give your audience a deeper understanding of you.

Use Right hashtags: To attract more people to your tweets, use the right hashtags. On Twitter, hashtags are a popular way people search for the tweets they want to check out.

Become a part of the Writing Community: With the right hashtags like #writingcommunity #amwriting #writerslife #writerlift, etc., you would find many tweets by authors you can connect with. Participate in the interactions, get suggestions and share your thoughts. It would help you get noticed in the writing community on Twitter.

Build your following: Again, by using the right hashtags around the subject of your book, you will be able to find tweets from people communicating their thoughts on the same or are looking for an answer. They could well be interested in your book as well. You can start interacting with their tweets, build a connection with them. A stronger personal connection would increase the chances of their purchase of a copy of your book.

Instagram:

With over 1 billion active users and more than 500 million daily active users on its platform, Instagram has become one of the largest social media platforms worldwide. Instagram allows the posting of images and short video clips (of not more than 60 seconds). You will have to work your way out on Instagram and build your audience.

Create your Profile: You can create your Instagram profile using your email or your Facebook account. Mention the link to purchase the book (website or other links like amazon listing) in your bio.

Use the Stories feature: Instagram gives you the ‘Stories’ feature, the posts that get deleted in 24 hours. You can post multiple stories in a day, and they will get deleted in 24 hours.

Use Right Hashtags: Hashtags are the way people search on Instagram. Post your content with the right hashtags to increase its visibility. Some of the websites suggest you the best hashtags to use based on the keyword you input.

Post Quality images: Post quality photos and images on Instagram. For designing quality images, you could use platforms like Snappa.

Personalized content: Personalize the content posted on Instagram. Your content on Instagram should be more about yourself- daily life/lifestyle, your thoughts, quotes, etc. It would help people get interested in your profile and know you.

Other tips:

LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn is a social network of professionals. If your book is for the Professionals, LinkedIn is the place to be. Create your profile on LinkedIn and build connections with your prospective readers.

Blog: Blogging is another medium to share your thoughts on the subjects around your book. The visitors to your blog, who love your content, will be more likely to go for your book as well.

GoodReads Account: Having an account on GoodReads will be beneficial for both- increasing the discoverability on search engines and getting initial readers for your book. You could also plan for Giveaways on GoodReads for gaining an initial readership base for your book.

YouTube Account: More than a billion hours of videos are watched on YouTube every day. You could also create an account on YouTube and post video content regularly.

Explore other social media platforms:

- TikTok: TikTok, a short-videos platform, has increasingly gotten popular among the millennials. If the target market for your book is the millennials, you could try out posting content on TikTok.

- Reddit: Reddit might look complex and might take some time for you to get used to it, but if you can get it right, you can channel a lot of traffic from Reddit to your website.

- Snapchat: With 300+ Million users worldwide, Snapchat is another social network you can try your hands at. It provides you with a unique model of your posts staying active for 24 hours.

- Pinterest: Having an account on Pinterest might help in increasing your discoverability. It allows only images to be posted on the platform. Posting images on Pinterest with the relevant tags might help generate traffic on your website.

- Quora: Quora is a question & answer platform. You could address the questions posted by people around the subject of your book. You can share your thoughts as a reply to the questions. More answers on the platform create credibility among its users. It would help drive traffic to your website.

Conclusion:

These are some basic social media tips for the new authors who are looking to get their journey started on Social Media for their profile and brand building. Certainly, Social media would help you create awareness about your book among thousands of people. If done right, you could potentially build a strong community around your content. For more guidance on book marketing or for any book marketing requirements, you can connect to @AuthorsParadize on Twitter.

What are your thoughts on this article? Did you find these tips useful? Let us know in the comments below.


Image Credits:

Image 1: Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Image 3: Facebook Image 4: Image by Photo Mix from Pixabay Image 6: Photo by Negative Space from StockSnap