by Regina Koinava
As an author, you need to find your target audience and promote your book to your readers. If you do it successfully, you can gain a loyal fanbase that will tune in to see which new books you are releasing again and again.
Of course, self-promotion is particularly important for independent or self-published authors, but it will also be useful for authors publishing traditionally. Luckily, social media is ideal for promoting yourself and your books. Without further ado, here are eight inspiring examples of social media book content done right.
#1 Live Stream Your Q&As
One of the best things about social media is that these platforms create an ideal space for authors to communicate with their readers directly. This is why you need to find ways to engage with your fans in a meaningful and interesting way. For instance, you can start live streams where you answer questions from your followers.
These can be all kinds of questions that your fans are curious about. You can ask for questions beforehand (e.g. on your Instagram Stories) or you can ask for them during the live stream so that people can post them in the comments and you can answer them right away.
Brigid Kemmerer is an author who has done Q&As during live streams. She has done them solo on her Instagram and even with a fellow author (Sophie Gonzales). If you save your live stream, even more fans will be able to watch it (i.e. those who were absent during the live stream).
Source: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-social-media-content-ideas/
#2 Make Playlists for Your Books
Another interesting type of content you can post to promote your books are playlists. Music can help your readers get immersed in the world of your books, whether your stories happen in the real world or in a fantastical one.
You can make playlists for your books, but you can also make them for specific characters. This way, you can even show the kind of personality and tastes that a particular character has and how they are different from others.
Elizabeth May created a playlist on Spotify for one of her books and shared the link to it on her Twitter account. Of course, Spotify is not the only platform where you can create such playlists, but it’s probably one of the best places for it because Spotify is so widely used today.
Source: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-social-media-content-ideas/
#3 Repost Fan Art and Other Creations
Fans love it when authors communicate with them, but they often love the books even more. That’s why so many fans create artworks, edits, and other types of works dedicated to their favorite books and the characters in them.
When you see such creations online, it’s a great idea to repost them and let more people know about the wonderful works created by your fans who were inspired by your book. Of course, don’t forget to ask for permission from the creators of the works before reposting them.
One author that really treasures her fans’ creations is Beth Revis. She even has a dedicated Pinterest board where she collects fan artworks. She encourages everyone to tag her so that she can easily find new fan works that are posted online.
Source: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-social-media-content-ideas/
#4 Share Your Reading List
Because you are an author, you probably read a lot, so why not share your reading list with fans? It’s a good way to start discussions and make your communication with followers more interactive.
In addition to that, you can look for other ways to engage your fans more. For instance, you can create games for fans. If you don’t know how to make them yourself, you can hire experienced writers from the top essay writing services site to help you. Essentially, these can be games where your followers need to find pieces of information online (or offline) to win a prize from you.
Megan Angelo made a post on her official Instagram with photos of the last three books she read. Moreover, she left some comments about each book to share her opinion on them and start discussions in the comments with those who read the books as well.
Source: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-social-media-content-ideas/
#5 Show What’s Behind the Scenes
The process of writing a book is very interesting for those who don’t write books which is why fans are always eager to find out how you work on your creations. Besides, other authors might be curious about this too.
This is why you can share all kinds of pieces of information about what goes on behind the scenes. What do you get inspired by? Where do you sit when you write? Do you write by hand or type on your computer? All of these things are unique to you.
Leigh Bardugo likes using images she finds on Pinterest as references for her characters’ clothes. She shared her Pinterest board where she saved images of different clothes that inspired the clothes her characters wear.
Source: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-social-media-content-ideas/
#6 Post Book Quotes and Excerpts
Quotes and excerpts from your book can be a good way to advertise a specific book from your bibliography. You can easily attract new readers – even those who never considered reading your books before.
Similarly, you can post excerpts from your audiobooks (if you have any). It’s a great way to encourage more people to check out the audio versions of your books, especially if they don’t have time to sit down and read them.
Colleen Hoover decided to take a creative approach to sharing book quotes and excerpts. Rather than posting a quote from an already-released book, she posted a quote from an upcoming book that intrigued her fans.
Source: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-social-media-content-ideas/
#7 Keep Fans Informed on the News
Keeping fans informed is one of the most important things authors should do through social media. You can post the latest news, updates, announcements, and even reveals on your social media. You can even schedule events this way!
The events you announce don’t have to be held in person. For instance, you can have a virtual tour like Brit Bennett who kept her fans updated with announcements on Facebook. In her post, she announced the final stop of her virtual tour with information about it and a supporting visual.
Source: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-social-media-content-ideas/
#8 Find Props for Book Scenes
Last but not least, you can find props for the different scenes in your books and post these props online. Like playlists, they can help your books “come alive” in your readers’ minds and make your books even more interesting to read.
On her Instagram, Maggie Stiefvater posted pictures of the tarot cards that appeared in a scene in her book. Moreover, she decided to have a giveaway and let one of her fans get the deck!
Source: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-social-media-content-ideas/
Final Thoughts
All in all, promoting yourself and your books on social media is one of the best things you can do as an author. Use the tips in this article to get some ideas for your own social media strategy and start posting interesting and engaging content on your official social media profiles.
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Regina Koinava is an expert writer who specializes in creating various training and professional upgrade courses, materials, manuals, and reviews. She also provides consultations and creates expert writing materials. She likes traveling and speaks German and French.
* Source for featured image: https://unsplash.com/photos/DCzpr09cTXY