The Power of Social Media

For being relatively young companies, Facebook and Twitter have made quite a splash in society. Over a billion people are currently signed up on these sites, and a good portion use both! While many of these people are using these social media sites for their own entertainment purposes, more and more businesses and people are harnessing the power of social media by creating personal pages dedicated to promoting themselves or their company. For authors, these social media sites are a great way to spread the word about your book and build a fan base.

We know that it can be intimidating if you’ve never used Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media site, but once you make the plunge you’ll see that utilizing the power of social media can be a fun, easy way to market you and your book!

Facebook

With over 1 billion people currently signed up with Facebook, we think it’s safe to say that many of them probably like reading as much as they do posting pictures and writing on their friends’ walls. As an author, you can use your Facebook page to attract other users who have interests similar to the topic of your book. Once they “like” your page, you are able to interact with your fans by keeping them up-to-date on any new books or projects you are working on, events you are having, or contests you are hosting. Your fans can also post comments, “like” your updates, or ask questions about you or your book, making the relationship more personal.

Some things that your author Facebook page should have is information about you, information about your book, and a link that will bring users to wherever they can purchase your book. This could be Amazon.com, BN.com, or your author website. At Mill City Press, we offer a Facebook page creation service to our authors, where we build a professional page for them. We design the page around the book, using the book cover, author photo, and biography. This professional layout serves to better promote your book to potential readers. To learn more about this service and other benefits you will receive, check out our Facebook Fan Page service.

Twitter

Like Facebook, more and more professionals are using Twitter to promote themselves by “tweeting” news to their followers. It’s a great way to stay engaged with fans and keep them updated in real time about new developments. But, we must point out that using Twitter as a marketing tactic takes some finesse. You have to find a balance between accumulating business by tweeting about your book and having fun by tweeting non-related links to articles, blogs, or whatever you like. If you only tweet about your book, people might view this as spam, and you don’t want to dissuade people from following you!

At Mill City Press, we also create Twitter pages for authors who want help with the process. Just like the Facebook pages we create, we base the design of your Twitter page around your book. We also include some other great benefits to help you create a schedule of when you will tweet and a free eBook to better help you promote your book! To learn more about these benefits, check out our Twitter Profile service page.

Both Facebook and Twitter are prime examples of how authors can use the power of social media to promote their books. Even if you haven’t published your book yet, you can still sign up and start promoting yourself and your work early. Gain a following beforehand and keep your fans up-to-date on your current projects. Remember, when it comes to social media, stay active, share relevant information and most of all have fun!