5 Social Media Tips to Meet Your Marketing Goals
When it comes to scrolling through social media, you’re a pro. But using social media to promote your book is a different story. Social media is a beautiful thing, but it can be difficult to know where to start when promoting your book. We listed some tips to help get you on the path to achieving your social media and marketing goals.
Know when and how much to post
Your visibility can be just as important as perfecting your content. Posting every few minutes isn’t going to get you more followers or make your current followers any happier. Most studies suggest posting once a day on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. However, fear not, because Facebook and Instagram have “stories” that give you the option to go live or post visuals. With stories, there is no limit to posting. People actually like to click through stories, no matter how many there are. Twitter is also a place where you can go crazy and post as much as you want without affecting your visibility.
The timing of your post is also important for visibility. You won’t get your optimal crowd at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. Stick to the business week and hours to avoid 1) your post disappearing into the void of other posts and 2) your post going unseen while people are not on their phones.
The last point to knowing how much to post is not about timing but rather about word count. Long-form posts are in nobody’s favor, especially considering our 8-second attention spans. Be concise with every post and remove any redundant or unnecessary word, especially for Instagram captions. If you have more to say, LinkedIn is the only channel that really encourages long-form content. But hey, this could also be your opportunity to create a blog, which you can link to on your social media.
The apple of a follower’s eye
Perhaps even more important than content is the visual component of your post. People are more likely to stop scrolling upon seeing an appealing visual than a bunch of words. So give them both! Hook them with the visual and reel them in for the words. That said, if you can, try to include some kind of image with every post.
And to do this, there’s no website you’ll love more than Canva. Canva is an easy, free platform where you can design anything in just seconds. And we mean anything— business cards, posters, flyers, presentations, cards, and social media images (and more). As you design, you can create backgrounds, upload images, add text, music, videos, and stickers. Canva also provides a range of different design sizes, including Instagram and Facebook posts.
Choose your favorite platform or love all of them differently
Remember, all social media channels serve different purposes and audiences. If you can’t keep up with them all, don’t! You don’t need them all. Focus on the channel that best fits your audience. If your book is more for professionals and takes a more serious tone, give your rose to LinkedIn. If you’re promoting a Young Adult book, Instagram is where you’ll find teenagers avoiding their homework. And lastly, if your book is for children, we know that parents love Facebook.
Each social media also has its own style of writing. The scale of most to least formal goes: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and then Twitter. Abbreviations, humor, and slang are fun for Twitter, but not very appropriate for LinkedIn. Alter your posts depending or choose one wisely!
Interaction is a two-way street
Don’t expect your followers to engage with your posts if you don’t have their backs too! Comment and like your follower’s posts as much as you can. If you don’t follow them back, respond to any of their comments or direct messages. Get a conversation going by asking questions and posting polls. Let your readers know how much you value them and want to interact with them. It’s a treat for both the reader and the author when they can communicate with each other.
All about the analytics (not as scary as it sounds)
Every so often, check your past posts and see which ones worked and which didn’t. Which are getting the most likes and responses and which are getting the least? Why? What did your visual look like (i.e., was it too busy)? How long was your post? Did you overload it with hashtags and tags? What time and day did you post it?
You don’t want to waste your time creating posts that aren’t engaging your followers. Follow other authors and investigate how and why their posts are succeeding (or not). Do some detective work (and yes, that includes some snooping).
There are endless ways to improve your social channels but there is no better place to spend your time promoting your book. If you’re creative, genuine, and dedicated, you’re bound to succeed.
Want more suggestions? Head over to our previous blog to reach thousands of potential readers all over the world. Let us know if you have any other tips at @MascotBooks on: