Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Snapchat—these are just a few of the many social media platforms that can be utilized to connect with friends and family, keep up with world events and to help market your business. As people living in the twenty-first century, we have been offered a rare opportunity to connect with people across the globe through the usage of the internet. This is something that we take advantage of every day without ever stopping to think about how many people we can reach by the simple act of typing 180 characters and pressing “tweet.”
To offer you a bit of perspective, in July of 2015, it was projected that out of the 7.3 billion people living across the globe, 3.17 of those people were active participants of the internet. Of those 3.17 billion users, 2.3 billion of them had active social media accounts. Those numbers have continued to rise over the last two years and will continue to rise over the next couple of decades. Despite what many people thought when it was first introduced, the internet is here to stay and social media will continue to gain active members as time progresses.
What we must ask ourselves now is how can we use these platforms as a doorway into marketing. If you play your cards right, by utilizing different kinds of social media, marketing is easier than it has ever been because you are able to reach more people than ever before.
It’s important to recognize that just because you create a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account does not mean you will be immediately successful. Like most things in life, building a presence online takes a lot of time and effort and, in some cases, it takes a little bit of luck.
Here are a few pieces of advice for anyone who is looking to use social media as a means for marketing:
FOLLOW OTHERS WHO HAVE SIMILAR INTERESTS OR BOOKS AS YOU
If you are a new, unknown author, it might be in your best interest to follow bestselling authors and large, successful publishing companies. By doing this, you will be able to gain information regarding your industry. This will allow you to become a resource of information for others and it will open the lines of communication between yourself and other members of that industry. You can also learn from others who are marketing successfully on social media and learn from their actions to fuel your own marketing campaign.
NETWORKING
Social media is also known as a social networking site for a reason. Use your time online to build relationships with people. It can be incredibly beneficial to build relationships with influencers who hold a substantial position within the field you are attempting to gain access to.
FIND YOUR AUDIENCE
If you’re writing a thriller, you wouldn’t want to waste your time marketing your book towards people who are interested in Romance or Fantasy. By using specific hashtags, you can connect with people who are interested in what you have to say. Knowing your audience is also important for knowing which social media outlet will allow you to reach the most people interested in your topic. Older adults mainly rely on Facebook whereas sites like Twitter and Instagram are utilized more by the youth. If you’re writing a young adult vampire novel, it might be best to start marketing on Twitter, but if you’re righting an adult contemporary novel Facebook might be the way to go.
BE VOCAL
Don’t be afraid to join the conversation! If people are discussing something relevant to what you’re doing, join in. This will offer you the opportunity to connect with people who are interested in the same things that you are and it will open the door for people to find your account and follow you. Some people make the mistake of jumping into a conversation only to say, “BUY MY STUFF!” Unfortunately, this isn’t going to get you anywhere. People are so used to seeing this while they are browsing the web, it will hardly warrant a second glance. Besides, if you were trying to sell something to someone face to face, would you shout, “BUY MY STUFF” upon meeting them? Of course not! It is all about building relationships. Whether it is face to face or on Facebook, this aspect of the sales process does not change.
NOTHING IS EVER FREE
As a young child, I would frequently whine to my mother about getting the cereal with the toy inside. I would cry in the grocery store, “But it’s free!” And my mother would tell me that nothing in life is ever free. I didn’t understand this at the time, but as I’ve grown older I’ve come to realize that to get the toy inside the cereal box, you still must buy the cereal.
While it is free on most platforms to open a social media account, in order to expand your business it is imperative that you are willing to buy ads. For example, Facebook will boost your content for a fee and, depending on how much you are willing to pay, those boosts can reach more and more people. Unfortunately, like the toy in the cereal box to get your message out you have to pay for ads on social media. You wouldn’t expect for your ad to be printed in the newspaper for free? Why would Facebook be any different?
For those of us who are new to the age of social media, it can seem overwhelming and at times scary; however, it is not impossible for you to take advantage of these platforms so that you can grow your business. After all, social media is there to make life easier, not harder! With these quick tips, I hope that you are able to find success in whatever your endeavor might be.
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