When I talk to clients about social media I call it an ever-evolving monster. It’s always changing. For many authors, it feels like they are battling a dragon. They have a difficult time trying to figure out what to do on social media and how to do it. If they do get it figured out, then it changes. The rules change, a new platform comes out, different image sizes are required. What worked best last year doesn’t work this year. There’s a myriad of information on what to do and it can be overwhelming.
Is it possible to slay this ever-evolving monster? How? In my experience the monster constantly rears its ugly head. You can’t control each social media platform and the changes they make. Though you can’t slay the monster, you can tame it. It just takes understanding some basics.
Social media will change. Be prepared for it.
Once you accept that change will occur, it will be easier to accept it and do whatever needs to be done to change with it. Prepare by crafting messages with ongoing value – evergreen content. Know that you may have to create images of various sizes if you want them to appear their best on each platform.
Feel free to experiment. What another author does successfully may work for you – or it may not. Try various strategies and see what works best for you. You don’t have to be active everywhere. It’s much better to focus on one platform and get it down than to start by trying to do it all everywhere. Social media marketing is a case where being sharply pointed is far better than being well rounded.
To be effective at taming the ever-evolving monster of social media marketing, you might consider hiring someone to do it WITH you. Notice I did not say hire someone to do the marketing FOR you. No one can market your book for you as effectively as you can. You know your topic, your point of view, better than anyone else. However, you can work WITH someone to help you disseminate your message and to provide social media guidance and advice.
If you’d like assistance establishing and dialing in your social media, we can help you get it ready to manage it yourself. Check out our 4 Week Social Media Head Start program.