... it's CRUCIAL!
by
Angelina Rose
 |
| VBT Cafe |
Social Media
Social media is probably the most
powerful marketing tool for writers. It gives you free access to millions of
potential readers. Business owners tend to dive head long into social media
expecting to see huge results in short periods of time. That is simply not the
case. It takes patience in order to build up a presence on social media. Here
are a couple of frequently asked questions.
How important is Social Media to Authors?
It’s not just important, it’s absolutely
essential for writers to establish themselves in the social media world. Here
are some of the reasons why:
Brand Building
Social media is perhaps the most
powerful brand building platform in the marketing world. You can use it to
decide the manner in which you want people to perceive you as a writer. If you
don’t find a way to make readers feel that your books are in demand, then you
will not sell very many copies.
Thriving Community of Readers
Social media brings with it a diverse
and cultivating community. It puts millions of potential readers right at your
fingertips. When you build a community, you are guaranteeing that future
opportunities will be more successful.
Gives you Authority as an Author
Without being active through social
media, you will not be able to garner the authority needed to convince readers
to buy your books. Authority is especially important if you are a non-fiction
writer.
Competitive Advantage
The
truth is that a lot of individuals don’t do a good job with social media.
Therefore, keeping on top of it will give you a significant advantage. When
starting out as an author, you need all of the advantages you can get.
What is the Best Social Media Platform
There
are so many opinions as to the best platform to use that it’s a bit of a toss
up as to which one you should use. Here are the three you should be most
concerned about:
Facebook
If
you don’t know what Facebook is then you must be living under a rock. It’s the
granddaddy of the social media world. You should definitely have an account
with an author page. Just be sure to make your profile and page come across as
professional. The trick to simplifying Facebook is to use your author fan page
to promote new books as opposed to creating pages for each book you release.
Only do that when you can afford to hire a team to manage your Facebook
accounts.
Twitter
Another
great (and necessary) platform for writers is Twitter. Fans absolutely love to
be engaged by authors. Twitter lets you easily connect and sometimes reply to
readers in a more personal way. In addition, you can effectively get your fans
to advertise for you through retweets.
LinkedIn
Finally,
we come to LinkedIn. Many tend to skip over this ever-important platform of
social media. If you’re trying to get signed by a traditional publisher, a
LinkedIn account is necessary. Publishers are guaranteed to search through
LinkedIn once they read your query letter. If they don’t find you on, then you
will likely be ignored.
Final Tips for Social Media
Let’s
end this article on a few quick tips of some things you should keep in mind
when using social media.
Don’t Spam your Fans
Spamming
is the fastest way to scare off fans (or send them storming off in rage). In
the social media world, if you only ever post that people should buy your books
or products, then you are spamming. So most of your posts should be fun and
entertaining posts, with a few promotions scattered throughout.
Be Consistent
You
can be as active with social media as you want but I do recommend that you at
least add one post a week. However, stay consistent. If you plan on posting
once a week, then make sure you do so. Don’t go weeks without posting.
Never bite off more than you can chew
In
other words, don’t try and do too much. Maintain a schedule and only spend a
limited time on social media.
