There is no question about it. Social media has permeated our society to the point of exhaustion. From mobile gami ng applications to helping us lose weight, people all over the world use social media to help them to communicate with others and manage their daily life.
Though there are few that are leading the pack when it comes to the race of social media popularity, namely Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, there are many others like Google+ which are vying for their time in the spotlight. With all this fan fare, there is no reason why authors should not be well suited to benefit from the hype.
Those who create a solid revenue stream with their writing (i.e. article s, blogs, books etc) should assume that the power of social media can also boost their own bottom line. If not only to find people who with buy and read your work; you r social media audience will also sha re your work with their friends; growing you audience exponentially.
And due to this auspicious aspect of social media, authors need not ask the question as the whether or not to dive into the new marketing realm, but better yet should be asking the question, “How soon can they get started?”
To help get you r pen hand in the door, I have come up with 4 best practices that will assist in helping your writing dreams become a way to make a more sustainable living.
PLAN IT OUT – One of the worst things that you could do is jump in head first before developing a solid social media marketing plan. What I mean by plan is a schedule as to what to post, when to post it and what platform to use. Marketing, with any media, takes a bit of planning and effort on the part of the beneficiary. It is doubly so when using social media. Before you start, take some time to research and explore different methods of social media use and the affects which they have on their target market. Believe me , this little bit of time spent up front will save you a lot a wasted time on the back end.
Listen up and Give Feed Back – The one great thing about social media is that is a great forum to give opinion s and listen in on other ‘ s insight s . Use this to your advantage. Make sure you spend just as much time listening to other’s opinions as you do in giving your own. You may learn a thing or two.
PROMOTE VIA ENGAGEMENT – The last thing that anyone wants to hear is a sales pitch. One example can be found in the television phenomenon which is TiVo. Commercials are going by the waist side and it is translated into the world of social media. If your message is too “ sales-pitchy “ , you audience will see right through it, you r comments will be deleted immediately and you will see th at your number of followers will dwindle to nothing. B etter yet, b ecome a subject matter expert in your area of writing and like they said the movie Field of Dreams, “they will come.”
A CHOOSY SUISIE WINS THE RACE – In creating a group of followers, you want to stick with those who have some sort of connection with your subject matter in which you are familiar in writing . It’s not going to help if all of your followers are a group of pre-teens whose interests are strictly with young adult fiction when the only thing that you write about is historical restoration. Choose your followers wisely but choose them often!
Just by taking these few simple steps when creating and implementing your social media marketing campaign with respects to your writing starting this very moment; you r exposure will increase, letting you r work reach thousands of people who otherwise would not have had t he opportunity to view it .