Social Media Marketing
General
Naming: Unless your social media name is already well established, you should stick to whatever your author name is + something to indicate to non fans that you are an author. @stuartthamanbooks and @authorpennycrane are good examples.
Frequency of posts: You need to post every day. Just once is fine, but every day or close to it is important.
Content: Don’t just spam your book. No one wants to see that. What people want to see is you and your personality. You’re selling them your entire author persona, so post about it. If you like to hike, go on hikes and post pictures. It really is that simple. Post about your books when it is relevant (like after you set up your table a convention or signing) and when you have something new coming out. Keep it to a minimum and focus on the ‘real’ content. Be genuine. If you like Dungeons and Dragons, post about it. If you write in English but speak another language, make content in both. Readers are interested in fun facts about their favorite authors, so give them some fun facts!
Other software: Canva, CapCut, and Pexels are great. They will take some time to learn, but they are wonderful tools to make your posts stand out and look professional.
Collaboration! Follow @nefhousepublishing if you want to collaborate! Reach out with ideas!
Instagram
Take advantage of IG stories with the link function. You can make links that take you straight to Amazon (or wherever you like). Aesthetic pictures tend to do well. Take your book when you travel and post pictures of it! Don’t neglect your bio either. Let people know who you are and what kind of content you’ll be posting. If you say you’re a cat lover in your bio, post some pictures of your cats. You can also use a link tree on IG. Take readers who want to know more to your author website, your Amazon page, and wherever else they can get content. Remember, when fans like an author, they want to follow them everywhere and on every platform.
TikTok
It is best to post 4-5 times per week. CapCut is excellent here to help you quickly make nice, clean videos to post. Pexels is great for royalty free images as well. Consider doing TikTok Live while writing. People like to see the artist in action, even if it is just sitting at the keyboard and typing away. You can also team up with other authors for Live events like interviews, discussions, fan meet and greets, and writing sprints. IG is where you develop relationships with readers while TikTok is where you interact with them and sell your book. Being able to do mini podcast-like TikTok Lives with other authors is a fantastic resource to grow your brand.
Facebook
Author profiles are better than fan pages. You can participate as a profile, and it is much harder to do that with a fan page or group. Fans also want to be your friend and connect. Pages and groups don’t really allow that, but an author profile does. Join other groups for your genre and participate! That’s the key. If you participate, you will grow your brand. Having an author profile is also a great way to find other authors and connect for cross promotion.
An example of an “aesthetic” picture from L. S. River who has the distinct advantage of living in France.
