A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Do you have a strategy for your social media?

  

It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.

Today's post looks at social media. The importance of social media is a given. It is the most effective of book promotion and marketing, and authors are expected to have strong platforms. Without a strong platform, a traditional book publishing contract is very difficult to get. So, how does one develop a good social media strategy? Here are suggested components to a good social media strategy:

Mission Statement

Here is an example: My mission is to empower readers with knowledge and powerful insights, helping them to improve their lives and live successful personal and professional lives.

Here is another: I am to provide guidance and encouragement to individuals seeking personal growth, offering actionable advice and transformative strategies for a fulfilling life.

And another: My mission is to share personal experience with honesty and vulnerability, hoping to inspire others and foster a sense of connection and understanding.

Clear goals

Examples of goals [with related strategies] may include some or all of the following:

  • Increase brand awareness: Grow number of followers on platform (e.g., Twitter, Face Book, Instagram) by 10% over the next three months [strategy: post regularly with engaging content, use relevant hashtags, collaborate with other authors, collaborate with influencers]
  • Boost engagement: Increase engagement (likes, comments, shares) by 20% in the next six months [strategy: create interactive posts such as polls, Q&A sessions, and giveaways -- respond promptly to comments and messages]
  • Drive traffic to website or blog: increase website or blog traffic by 15% over the next quarter [strategy: share blog posts, book excerpts, and exclusive content with links to your website; use call-to-actions (CTAs) to encourage clicks]
  • Promote book sales: boost book sales by 25% during next launch period [strategy: create a countdown campaign leading up to the launch; offer limited-time discounts and share positive reviews and testimonials]
  • Build an email list: Increase your email subscriber list by 200 new subscribers in the next three months [strategy: use social media to provide a freebie or exclusive content in exchange for signing up for the email list; host a giveaway, requiring an email subscription to participate]
  • Establish authority and expertise: establish yourself as an expert in your field or genre by securing three guest blog posts or podcast interviews in the next six months [strategy: share insightful and valuable content related to your genre or topics of expertise; connect with bloggers, podcasters, and media outlets]
  • Foster community: create a loyal community of readers by starting a book club or reader group with 100 active members in the next six months [strategy: use platforms like Facebook Groups or Discord to create a space for readers to discuss your books, share thoughts, and interact with you]

Clear understanding of target audience

Where authors do not already have a clear understanding of the target audience, there are ways to find out that information. Here are some ways to do that:

  • Market research: demographics (age, gender, location, etc., of potential readers) and psychographics (interests, values, lifestyles, pain points, motivations) 
  • Reader surveys: create surveys, asking specific questions relevant to your topic
  • Social media insights: interact with readers, use social media analytic tools
  • Reader communities and forums: join online book clubs and forums like Goodreads, observe trends
  • Beta readers and feedback: select a group of readers to provide feedback on your manuscript before publication; implement the feedback
  • Reviews and testimonials: analyze reviews of similar books; engage with reviewers
  • Competitor analysis: study similar authors; learn from successes
  • Email marketing: Build an email list; segment list based on readers' interests

The right platforms

Choosing the right platform(s) is very important in order to make the best use of the limited marketing time that authors have available. Here are some suggestions on how to do that. 

  • Audience demographics: the age of your readers can help here -- generally, young folks often prefer TikTok and Instagram whereas older readers prefer LinkedIn and Face Book
  • Content type: the content you can make and like will dictate the right platform to some extent; Pinterest and Instagram are better for posting visual content whereas Twitter and Face Book lend themselves more to written content
  • Engagement opportunities: interactive platforms (Face Book and Instagram offer features like videos, stories, and polls) or community buildings (Goodreads is better at building a reading community)
  • Professional Network: Here, LinkedIn stands out
  • Marketing features: some platforms have better ad capabilities, e.g., Face Book and Instagram
  • Ease of use and personal preference: the reason for this consideration should be obvious; when the comfort level is higher, the likelihood of sustaining regular posting/interaction is higher
  • Analytics and insights: there is an advantage to using those platforms that provide analytics

Content bank

Having a reserve of content is important to being able to sustain a platform -- for those times when the mind is blanking.

Social media schedule

  • For platforms where you plan to post daily, it can help to have topics associated with specific days, such as Thankful Thursdays
  • Quality is more important than quantity. If you can only post once a week but have very good content each time, that is preferable to daily posting with mixed-quality content
  • Allow time in your schedule to respond to comments, polls, etc.
  • Monitor responses to see what kind of schedule works best with your followers

    Bottom line:
    There is much potential variation in using social media for book promotion and marketing.
    Much depends on the book, the topic, the field, and the author's comfort levels.     

    See more Publisher Conversations with Authors HERE.


     Learn more about publishing from an acquisitions editor -- how to get your book proposal accepted, why proposals are turned




    The Tuesday talks reflect real discussions between the management of MSI Press LLC and our own authors or those would-be authors who come through our doors but don't make the cut--yet. If you have a topic that you would like addressed, leave the question in the comment section. Chances are, in our 18 years of publishing first-time and experiences authors, we have had a conversation with one of our authors that we can share with you.

                             



    (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)


     



    Follow MSI Press on Twitter, Face Book, and Instagram. 






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    We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us?





    Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscript, San Juan Books, our hybrid publishing division, may be able to help.





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    Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book in exchange for reviewing a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com.




    Want an author-signed copy of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.

    Julia Aziz, signing her book, Lessons of Labor, at an event at Book People in Austin, Texas.




    Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our Authors' Pages.

    Steven Greenebaum, author of award-winning books, An Afternoon's Discussion and One Family: Indivisible, talking to a reader at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy, California.





       
    MSI Press is ranked among the top publishers in California.
    Check out our rankings -- and more --     HERE.

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