Digital marketers seek every opportunity to connect their clients with the desired audience in the best and most engaging way. The social media landscape is much different than it was just last year, and it is certainly a full-time endeavor to remain current in tactics when marketing online.
If you’re an author, YOU are the one who has to have the overview of what the social media marketing capabilities are for your brand. That brand is YOU, and everything you do.
Three Social Media Marketing Tips for Authors
If your book is being released, a social media strategy should be scripted and followed. The question is: WHAT should you do? To answer that, here are some social media book promotion secrets to success from a top digital marketer. Stay tuned for Part Two of this blog for three more tips.
Tip #1: Don’t Be Blatantly Self-Promotional!
Your desired audience may be interested in your book—but they will not necessarily be drawn to it from typical social media posts—the ones that are most likely your first inclination to do. If there’s nothing special about what you’re doing on your social media platforms, your message will very likely become unnoticed online “noise.”
Your daily social media activity needs to be extremely interesting and engaging. Talking only about yourself and/or your book is at some point going to just become an equal combination of boring and annoying. It is SOCIAL media—and you have to reach out and be social, as opposed to being the self-absorbed person at the cocktail party.
To start, write down a table of percentages as your social media post topic blueprint. Here is a guideline:
25%—About YOU the author
25%—About your book
50%—Sharing content (blogs, articles, videos, images, news items, etc.—by others. Content that you like and present to your social following with your own insight and comments.)
Tip #2: Post a Variety of Social Media Content
Consider this rule of thumb: When return visitors come back to your Facebook page, for instance, they should not already know what to expect to see posted there that day. If they can predict what type of post will be there based on a few previous visits, then you are NOT doing good social media.
An example of this would be a diet book that primarily posts recipes every day. The recipes might be amazing—but after a while, how many visitors will want to come back to see yet another weight-loss recipe?
On the other hand, a diet book and author could have an incredible social media presence if she regularly posts about cuisine from around the world, new studies on weight loss, before and after success stories, interesting ingredients, shared recipes, clever shopping tips, personal anecdotes about cooking, tips about healthy eating, top dos and don’ts lists, dieting myths and facts, an interactive quiz or survey, guest posts from fans, a video demo of an interesting shortcut or technique, and so on. This list can go on as long as your imagination does.
How many authors actually do this? Generally, only the ones whose social media is done by a marketing agency. Without professional input, the common prevailing focus would be just excerpts from their book.
Tip #3: Remember that in Marketing, Creativity Rules!
If you’re an author, you probably excelled at creative writing in school. You’re skilled at putting creative thought into your work, enabling others to have an emotional response or a moment of genuine appreciation for your ideas.
Just because online content is generally short and to the point, don’t skimp on creativity. Make it your goal to have every piece of social media content move and inspire your readers. To do this, think of the classic ’50s and ’60s advertising campaigns as portrayed in Mad Men. The advertising idea, the pitch, the premise—that’s what was considered the difference maker. You’re trying to get people’s attention, cut through the noise, and create a “buzz.”
Don’t be afraid to go for their emotional centers. Instead of “5 Ways to Avoid Fat in Your Cooking,” you could reframe that idea as “5 Surprising Ways to Cook without Fat.” Try to find something that’s controversial, unknown, or counter-intuitive. Think of topics that no one besides you could possibly present in that way.
You’re Your Best Social Media Promoter
Authors have to contribute to their own marketing efforts. You can’t expect a book publicist or social media marketer to do all your work. But along with your own responsibilities, finding an experienced professional to help you in the publicity/promotion area will help you leverage your great ideas and broadcast them, skillfully, throughout the social media universe.
Next time, in Part Two, I will present three more social media marketing tips for authors.