You may be faced with a dilemma… a social one. In a sea of endless marketing options, it can feel overwhelming where to start and what to put your energy into. Most authors try to be on all social media platforms only to realize that they have the energy and capacity to engage on little, if any, due to being immobilized by it all. Social media has a purpose when it aligns with your overarching strategies.
As you consider how social media could be a meaningful part of your efforts, ask yourself:
- Why do I want to be on social media? (Is it because there’s a reason or because it’s what everyone else is doing?)
- Where do my target readers engage most? Am I on that social media platform and is it a platform I’ll also enjoy being on?
- What am I willing to invest (both in time and financial resources) to remain current, visible and engaged on social media.
Do you need to be on social media? Probably. Do you need to be everywhere? Probably not.
According to a 2022 Hootsuite blog, over 4.62 billion people across the world use social media which means that nearly 75% of the world’s population ages 13+ use social media in some way. Wow!
Social media has a meaningful place to play in your book marketing strategies, and if leveraged correctly, it can deepen the loyalty of your readers and develop a fan base for your book and your business.
The entire Season 9 of The emPowered Author Podcast is dedicated to this social media dilemma and filled to the brim with valuable insights to help you learn more about how to leverage social media and the top social media platforms to consider.
Download this tool to use in conjunction with Season 9 of The emPowered Author Podcast.
The Author’s Guide to the Social Dilemma downloadable will help you determine how to optimize your social media infrastructures and create meaningful engagement on the social platforms that make sense for you, your book, your business and your readers.
Why should authors be on social media, you ask!?
Great question!
Social media shouldn’t be seen as the only part of your author platform. However, it can be a meaningful part of the engagement arm of your author platform. Social media allows for you to build connections, deepen loyalty and offer real-time authentic conversations to keep you visible.
Social media can be an effective tool if you use the platforms that you enjoy and that your target audience is on. Here are a few social media insights to consider:
- LinkedIn is the social media platform people go to when they want to take action. (We think every author should be on this platform!)
- Facebook offers a conversational and authentic platform to create meaningful conversations with your readers and clients.
- Instagram is a visual platform what builds upon your brand and, when using the right hashtags and engaging with the right influencers, can sell books!
- Twitter is where media personalities and influencers engage most, and if you enjoy brevity, it's a platform you'll love.
- YouTube is a video-based search engine which offers authors the opportunity to build credibility and visibility to audiences who may not have found them otherwise.
- Pinterest is also a visual search engine allowing authors to offer useful tips and insights for their readers to reference time and time again.
