Three Social Media Posting Quick Tips

The topic of social media is nothing new for the Dorrance Publishing blog. We’ve covered it a few times, learning how to promote your book on Facebook and Twitter and even with a personal blog.

Social media shows no signs of slowing down. So, whether you are a social media enthusiast or are just getting your feet wet, we want to offer you three quick and easy tips to keep in your back pocket the next time you add a post to your social sites.

Keep your cool – If you have a personal Facebook or Twitter account, you probably know that one friend who frequently overshares: It seems that every hour on the hour they will post an update about what they are doing, and more times than not, it’s too much information.

The lesson of this tip is to not be that person when posting on your author social profiles.

When promoting your book on your fan page, try not to be overbearing with your posts by constantly adding updates about the same piece of work. Some people will find it obnoxious and some might even block you from their news feed, thereby eliminating your ability to reach them with any of your messages, regardless of topic

Think of posting to your page as a healthy diet: Everything in moderation. So, as a rule of thumb, consider predominately posting non-book promotional content that your target audience will enjoy and every once in a while pepper in posts to promote your work. This will keep your audience intrigued and not annoyed with overbearing promotion of your book!

Picture this –- As the old saying goes, “A picture’s worth a thousand words.” In this day and age, some of the most popular social sites are centered on pictures and videos to articulate a message to other users. So, if you want to change it up from text-based status updates, consider using visuals to spread your message. However, as we all know, content is king and now, pictures and videos are the queen. Since the king and queen go hand in hand, consider uploading an image or a video and pair it with a short, keyword rich description to really have your message hit home with your followers.

But, as we said in the previous tip, moderation is important, so consider uploading a wide range of posts to your page. From a status update to a post with a picture or video, varying your posts will keep your page interesting!

Learn from the past – Take a look at your past content and see what worked and what didn’t. Social media is a numbers game, and finding out what interests the largest number of your followers is beneficial when promoting your work. Doing so will help you gauge the effectiveness of your posts. If you’ve created a fan page for yourself on Facebook, you can utilize the “Insights” option, which will show you how your page is performing. This feature is available once you have at least 30 people like your page.

Just as Facebook has the “Insights” tool, Twitter has the same capability in their “Analytics” option. Twitter Analytics gives users an inside look at their timeline activity, followers and Twitter cards –tweets to which users can attach photos, videos or a media experience  in order to gain traction.

All in all, social media is a great tool for authors to use for their marketing efforts. Not only does it establish an online presence, it also provides you with an easy, cost-effective tool to reach your target audience.

Stay tuned for more social media quick tips in the weeks to come!

Copyright Dorrance Publishing, 2015