Social media is one of the most dynamic tools for an author who is ready to grow his fan base and publicize his new and upcoming books. Social media is simply a SOCIAL medium that allows authors to interact directly with fans rather than through a publicist. These tips will allow you to not only connect with your audience, but also help you attract a new batch of fans you may not have known existed! Do you want to know what the fans really think of your new story? Want to get an idea of how your latest book was perceived? Do you want to discover possible new plot lines? Here are some ways you can find the answers to these questions using social media tools:
- Youtube– This, or any video site, is a fantastic way to build interest in an upcoming book! Think outside the box and use this tool to create a trailer for your book! Once created, the video can be embedded on your blog or website and help promote your box in a new and interesting way. Even if you don’t have the finances for a professionally done trailer, there are a multitude of local videographers who would love to work with you to help promote your book – you just need to look!
- Blog – This may be old news to many people, but a blog is one of the most valuable things you can have when trying to market yourself, as well as previously published and recently published books. The sky is the limit when it comes to deciding on a blog topic. You can choose a character from one of your books and blog through their eyes to generate hype for a new release or just blog about how a new book is coming along as you write it!
- Twitter – This popular social networking site can be an amazing tool or an incredible waste of time depending on how you work with it. As with the blog, set up a Twitter account for a fictional character from one of your books and post random thoughts and ideas from that character that relate to the book. There is no limit to what your character can say and this could be a great idea to discover new book ideas, but that is another article. You can also use your Tweets as little previews for an upcoming book. Post interesting quotes from the book every day or every week for a few weeks or months before the book is published. This way, the reader will be drawn to the quote, and by doing so on a regular basis, you will build a following that will continue to come back on a regular basis.
- Facebook – Create a Facebook page (not a profile) for each book and include details about the book, critic reviews, and breaking news related to you or your book. Like Twitter, Facebook can be used to post interesting quotes from a book to build a following, but the advantage of using Facebook is the built-in discussion option on the pages. With discussions, you’ll receive questions and comments from fans that help you engage with your readers instead of just writing updates. A fan page is also a great place to offer special advanced copies or advanced chapters of an upcoming book! I recommend using Scribd as a way to share these special offers because you have the option to protect the chapter or book from being downloaded, something a simple PDF won’t let you set.
- Virtual tour of the book – Now to put everything together! Set up a tour of podcasts, webcasts and internet radio shows in your creative area and take a virtual book tour! This is a great way to get publicity for a new book on the cheap and also engage fans and readers in a whole new way. Advertise your appearances via the social media tools we’ve already discussed and offer session recordings too!
I hope these simple tips have helped you see the value of using social media in conjunction with your own creative juices to generate publicity and excitement for your new book!
Good luck!