Promoting your book on Social Media is hard work, takes time, and can be confusing. As an author, you just want to know what works and what doesn’t so you can spend less time learning how to do ‘all the marketing things’ and more time writing your next book.
So where do you begin to start promoting your book on social media?
Have no fear, I have got you covered with these 20 steps to promoting your book on social media. In this article, I am sharing the top 20 social media strategies that have worked for my author clients and myself. I have used these same strategies to grow Author’s Instagram followings from zero to over ten thousand in a month. These social media strategies for authors and their books work. You just need to follow them. Are you ready to get started?
Follow These 20 Steps To Promoting Your Book On Social Media To Building Awareness And Book Sales.
1. Identify Your Audience
Identifying who your target reader is is the most crucial step towards promoting your book on Social Media or any platform. Whether you are going to do online or offline marketing strategies, you need to know WHO you are targeting.
If you skip this step, then your marketing campaigns will fail, and your book won’t gain any traction. I can not stress this enough.
Everyone is NOT your reader. Identify what type of reader your book attracts. For example, what type of age range is your reader, what books do they already read, what City or Country are they from, and what other accounts do they follow? Understanding WHO your target reader is will help you establish essential factors such as your posting schedule, key message, content creation, and your brand’s voice.
To help you get started towards identifying who your target reader is, try answering the below questions:
- What is your target reader’s age
- What are your target reader’s interests?
- What media does your target reader consume and follow
- What other books does your target reader read?
- Where does your target reader live?
I have also written an in-depth blog article that shares the three steps authors can take to finding their target reader.
2. Set SMART Goals
Setting SMART goals will help ensure all of your social media strategies are aligned and working towards a goal. If you have no goal, then all the work you put into promoting your book on social media will not amount to anything.
Here is an outline of what SMART goals stand for:
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Achievable
R- Relevant
T- Time Bound
By following the SMART ideal, you will be less likely to post content that is irrelevant to what your brand stands for. As time passes by, you will reach small goals that will accumulate and help you achieve bigger goals. This will most definitely keep you in the social media game for the long run, and help your book sales skyrocket forward!
3. Posting Information About Your Book On Social Media
Post different content related to your book on each social platform. Don’t post the exact same content at the same time on each social media platform. Your audience interacts with each social media platform at different times. And if your audience follows you on each social media platform, they are going to want to see different content on each of your accounts. Plus if you post the same content on every one of your social media platforms, it just looks like you are lazy.
4. Create A Content Schedule
You may think this might be over the top or believe that only big companies do this. Wrong! Creating a content schedule will keep you on track with your content creation for social media. Not only that, it will help you consistently post on your social media, which in turn leads to steady growth in followers.
5. Experiment With What Time You Should Post
Surprisingly this makes a difference. Try posting at different times and see when you get the most traffic. Most likely, there will be times when most of your audience is busy at work or school. But they will simultaneously be done around the same time.
6. There Is No Right Answer For Every One
Just because it worked for another author, doesn’t mean it’ll work for you and your book. Make sure you take the time to get to know your ideal reader and strategize from there. Everyone’s readership base is very different!
7. Be Human
Many believe that all followers want to see is perfect content. But that’s not true! Followers want to see the human side of their favorite authors.
Crack a joke once in a while or show them your day to day life. Explain your writing style, or share how many times you edited one chapter, or how long it took you to develop a character. Post content that is relatable to your target reader.
8. Create Relationships Through Social Media
Don’t take the “social” out of social media! Always connect with your audience, whether that be replying to their comments or sharing other people’s content. Always answer your audience’s questions and be their friend. It might take some time to connect with them on a personal level, but in the end, you will create a tribe of lasting followers and readers. Look always to seek relationships, not just followers.
9. Don’t Oversell On Your Feed
Once you start growing a social media audience, brands are going to want to collaborate with you. Although this is great, make sure you don’t fill your feed with paid advertisements or collaborations. Your audience follows you because of who you are and what your brand stands for. They trust the products you’re promoting, but they most likely won’t want to see their feed full of paid advertisements.
10. Optimize Your Account For Engagement
“Don’t work harder; work smarter.” Optimizing your account means to fill out all the necessary information, and using keywords that your readers will use to find you. Make your profile easy to navigate, and that will naturally attract more followers.
PRO AUTHOR TIP: Use your Instagram bio wisely by promoting necessary hashtags and other linked social media platforms.
11. Get Visual
Ever heard of the saying “never judge a book by its cover”? Well, that’s not true in the social media industry. The first thing users see is how your feed is laid out and the quality of your content. People are always too quick to judge, and they will know instantly if they find your account appealing or not. Make sure you post visually appealing content you are proud of on your feed!
12. Link Your Social Media Accounts
If you’re active on more than one social media site, you can let your readers know by linking your social media accounts together. You took the time to establish social media accounts, so why not let the world know. Make sure all your social media accounts are interconnected! Your Facebook should lead to your Instagram, and your website should lead to all of your social media accounts!
You can do this on your Facebook page about section and by using third-party apps. Apps like, Tabsite or Woobox will add custom tabs to your page. Each of these tabs should then be linked, with an appropriate thumbnail, or to another one of your social media platforms. This will increase brand exposure.
13. Be Active
What is the easiest way to lose followers? By being inactive.
Remember always to continue to post on your social media regularly. Publishing new content at least once a day is the best strategy. Plus, it will help organically grow your social media.
14. Comment On Other People’s Content
Don’t underestimate this step. I find that commenting on other people’s posts and content is the number one way to grow your audience quickly. This step may be more effective than posting regularly.
Start by finding other influencers, authors, and accounts that relate to your book and comment on their content. By commenting on other people’s content, you can connect with their audience and establish new relationships.
15. Don’t Be Afraid to Pay
Just because it’s free to use social media doesn’t mean it’s free to become successful. A common misconception is that successful accounts don’t invest money in their brand is false. There are plenty of things you can do to grow your account organically, but once you get to a particular stage, it pays to pay. (I have a secret technique on how to build a credible and highly engaged audience from zero to one thousand overnight. Want to know? Join my newsletter, and I will email you the secret.)
16. 80/20 Rule
Eighty percent of your content should be about your brand and what you stand for. The other twenty? Anything from promotions to collaborations. Follow this rule, and you’ll be sure not to bombard your audience with paid ads.
17. Optimize Your Profile Picture And Cover Photo
Make sure your profile picture and cover photos are at high resolutions of what you want to endorse to your audience. For example, your profile picture should be a logo of your brand or if that brand is you than a high-resolution photo of yourself. Your cover photo should be an image that speaks about what your brand and book stands for.
Pro Tip: Make sure the photos are the correct dimension; that way your audience can see the whole photo without clicking into it.
18. Fill Out The About Section
Whether this is Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, make sure to fill out the about section. The about section gives your audience a quick way to learn what your book is about and who you are. Remember to also add your email and contact number!
19. Do Not Automate Your Direct Messages
You may be tempted to automate your DM replies. But Wrong! Automated messages come across as lazy and impersonal, so take the time to write a new message for each person.
20. Establish Yourself As An Expert
Promoting your book on social media is one of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Sharing your knowledge and advice on your social media platforms will position your and your book as an authority. This will not only create an online audience, but journalists will also want to interview you after seeing your social media.
Conclusion: Promoting Your Book On Social Media
Hopefully, these tips on how authors can use Pinterest to get more book sales helped spark some creative ideas. Remember, Pinterest is not like any other social media platform. Pinterest is more like a search engine similar to Google. As you create your Pinterest account and start adding content, make sure you drive followers and traffic back to your Amazon Page or Author website. So that people can buy your book!
Looking for more social media advice? Join my Authors only Facebook group where I will answer any of your marketing or publishing questions. Plus I am giving away my free 20 page social media guidebook that has over 100 tips for authors in it!
You really make it seem really easy with your blog post. I’m looking ahead for your next article, I will try to get the hang of it!