Developing a Social Media Strategy Plan for Authorpreneurs

Social media content is essential to every authorpreneur’s success, especially if you’re a self-published author and you are in charge of promoting your work. However, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t bother with social media if you’ve published your book with a traditional publisher.

Benefits of Social Media

When you are building your author brand, the best way to become successful at it is to be consistent in making your audience aware of your presence. Consistency is the key to putting yourself out there, and you can achieve this through social media.

Among the many social media platforms today, there are five that can be very useful for authors like you.

• Facebook: for giving your friends and your family updates about your book
• Twitter: for sharing your thoughts
• Google+: for sharing what you are passionate about
• Pinterest: for pinning images that are related to your book or niche
• LinkedIn: for building professional connections and relationships

You can use all of these social media platforms, but always remember what you’re using each of them for.

Social Media Guidelines

There are no specific rules that will guarantee book marketing success through social media. There are, however, guidelines that can help you get started.

1. Plan ahead.

   When you plan carefully, you’ll have more chances at being successful. Have a calendar and plot your ideas. Have a different theme every week for your posts, but they should always be related to your niche. Lastly, you must do your research on social media trends before you finalize your calendar to make sure that your social media plan will be effective.

2. Start before you even finish your book.

   Build your audience and market your book even if you’ve only done half of it. Don’t wait until you’ve finished writing your book. It takes months, or even years, to build your author brand. And if you start on the day you finish your book, you’re going to have to wait for a long time for it to gain attention from your audience.

3. What to post.

   Building your author brand doesn’t mean you have to market your book on social media 24/7. You must let people know that you care about other people’s content too, such as the ones by other authors and publishing experts. Curate their content, and share these on your social media pages.

   Here are some examples of what you can post on social media:

   • Helpful articles that are relevant to you and to other authors
   • Updates about your book and activities that you will be participating in
   • Blog posts from your author website
   • Inspirational and motivational quotes from famous authors or influencers
   • Things that you’re interested in, such as your hobbies, favorite food, etc.
   • Questions that would further your knowledge about the author communities

   Provide your followers great content. Even if what you’re sharing is not about the book that you’re working on, they will see you as a trusted voice in the industry if they are able to learn from you. Because of this, they are more likely to be interested in your book.

4. Interact with your followers.

   In social media, you have to converse with people to build your network. Listen and respond to what other people are saying, especially your followers. Let them know that you are also interested in what they do, by liking, sharing, re-tweeting, and responding to their posts. If you do this, they are most likely to do the same for you. The next thing you know, you’ve already built a close rapport with them.

   However, when it comes to issues that agitate you, you must not unleash your anger. Everyone’s going to see your rage posts, especially your potential readers. Even if some people may attack you online, it’s best to stay silent. Be positive and learn to brush off the things that don’t matter.

5. Analyze your statistics.

   When you’ve done your social media efforts, you must check if you have succeeded in marketing your book. Analyze your statistics. You can do it weekly or monthly. What type of content got the most likes and responses? Which of your posts didn’t get any attention at all? How many new followers have you gained over the course of a week or a month?

   Compare how well you’ve done this month and the previous months, and apply the social media strategies that boosted your stats. Most social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, have free analytics, which will make checking hassle-free.

   • Boost Your Online Presence: Super Easy Ways on How to Promote Your Book on Facebook
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   • The Self-Published Author’s Guide to Pinterest as a Marketing Platform