Author Directions: Navigating Your Success in Social Media

5 Key Tips for Authors Using Social Media

As an author, you are the face of your work, and the information you share on social media can help you gain exposure and encourage your work’s sales. When used effectively, social media is a powerful tool that can spark interest in your work, convey crucial information in real-time and foster genuine, direct connections with your current and potential readers.

With new platforms appearing seemingly every day, the social media realm is constantly growing in richness, nuance and depth. It can be a daunting task to figure out where to begin. How much time should you spend building your social media presence, and which social media platforms are worth the effort it takes to maintain a following?

The goal of this article is to help you solve that question. Our five key tips should encourage and empower you to participate in social media to connect with your readers and promote your work.

However, keep in mind that your efforts on social media are in addition to (rather than in place of) the social media promotions that are done by Taylor & Francis on your work’s behalf. Taylor & Francis operates over 60 social media accounts that focus on a variety of subjects and appeal to diverse audiences. You can also reach an even wider audience by connecting with us on social media!

5 key tips for authors using social media:

1. Choose Your Social Media Channels
2. Create a Presence
3. Link Networks
4. Listen, Respond and Realise
5. Plan Your Content

Choose Your Social Media Channels

You may already be familiar with three of the biggest players in social media: Facebook,Twitter and LinkedIn. What are the strengths of these platforms, and are they right for you? When deciding which social media channels to utilise, start by considering who you’d like to reach and what types of interactions you want to have with your readers. Your conclusions will help you choose the platform (or platforms) best suited to your goals.

Facebook

Facebook is a great way to connect with people you already know. This platform is an ideal channel to share photos, upcoming events and appearances you may be planning to attend, short text excerpts and links to relevant content (for example, articles related to your work or posts from your blog). By sharing your work, you can encourage family, friends and colleagues to engage with your content and advocate for you.
You can also create a professional page for yourself or your book(s) so current and prospective readers can stay up-to-date with your latest updates and posts. Learn more here.

Twitter

Twitter allows you to communicate information concisely within 280 characters. At first glance, Twitter may seem overwhelming — it can often feel like you’ve entered a conversation an hour late — but if you make the most of your profile and pay attention to the hashtags that categorise content, you’ll be able to find your community.

You can share links to your work, post in real-time from conferences or events you’re attending and connect with people interested in your field(s) of expertise. If you think of Twitter as an ongoing, fast-paced conversation, it’s important to remember that anyone can join at any time. This platform was created with discussion in mind, so don’t be afraid to hop on and share your thoughts and expertise!

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a business-focused social network, allowing users to share their professional work history and post related content. Build your network by adding colleagues in your field, joining relevant groups and sharing updates pertinent to your field.

Engagement is a surefire way to boost your profile, posts and overall online presence, so be sure to respond to comments, like posts and share content that’s relevant to your professional interests. For authors, LinkedIn is perfect for maintaining your professional identity, networking with peers and promoting your work.
 

Create a Presence

When building your brand, a social media presence is essential. Your social presence will expand your reach and help your audience find you, interact with your work and potentially share your news with their networks.

A key starting point for a successful social media presence begins with your name. For your name to rank well in search engines, your social profile name should appear in the most familiar way that users would search for you (Heinze et al.). You need to make it as easy and intuitive as possible for people to find you online.

[Side Tip: The more you interact on social media, the richer the experience you’ll have, and the more visible your profile will become.] 
 

Facebook

1. Create an account
   Visit Facebook.com and follow the prompts to create your account — the information you’ll need to enter includes your name, date of birth, gender, email address and mobile number. Create a unique password that you’ll be able to remember and click ‘sign up.’ Facebook will then send you a confirmation message; follow the instructions in that message to complete your account registration.

2. Build a page
   You can create a page for yourself as an author or one for your book(s). To do this, select the “Create Page” option from the menu and choose the appropriate type of page — “People” for yourself or “Books & Magazines” for your book. Follow the prompts to create, edit and manage your page.

3. Additional tips
   Facebook is an excellent way to build your online community, but it can also be easy to veer off-track. Keep the goal of what you want to promote, whether it's yourself as an author or your book, in mind when sharing content. You don't necessarily need to generate all of the content you share yourself. A great way to engage with the Facebook community is to share relevant posts from other pages or members.

 

Twitter

1. Create an account
   Visit Twitter.com/SignUp and enter your name and email address. Alternatively, you can use your Google or Facebook account to create an account by selecting either option on the page. Choose a password and username and click ‘create my account.’ Keep in mind that your readers will have an easier time identifying you if you choose a username that is close to your full name. Twitter will then send you a confirmation email containing a link; follow that link to complete your account registration.
    
2. Develop a following
   After you create your account, you can start following other accounts that relate to your interests and encourage other users to follow you. As you follow more accounts, Twitter will tailor its follower recommendations to your patterns and preferences.
    
3. Additional tips

• Show your interest in a topic by retweeting others' posts. You can either retweet directly using the retweet button, or ‘quote tweet’ to add your thoughts on the topic above the shared post. To achieve the second option, simply click the retweet button and then select ‘Quote Tweet’. Twitter will automatically open a new tweet where you can write commentary, with the content of the original tweet you wanted to reference pasted below. 
• Weigh in on a conversation by responding to others’ tweets. Be sure to always include the username of the person you’re addressing in your response (ex. @JohnSmith).
• Use hashtags (the # symbol) on Twitter. These are keywords that help categorise related posts by atopic or conversational thread. Using a hashtag in your tweet means that your post will appear along with other tweets that use the same hashtag — adding your content to be part of a larger conversation. You can also create your own hashtags to differentiate your content from others. However, be cautious not to overdo it and add too many hashtags. Listing 10+ different hashtags is overkill – one or two is best. 
• Share your posts by using the ‘More’ button to cross-post your tweet on other social media platforms or embed it in your website or blog.
   

LinkedIn

1. Create an account
   Visit LinkedIn.com and fill in your sign-up information, including your email address, full name, country of residence and postcode. Verify your account by clicking the link emailed to you by LinkedIn.
    
2. Complete your profile
   Personalise your profile by adding your current details such as job title, company/institution and industry. Add a cover photo and profile picture – keep in mind that these pictures will represent you, so make sure the images are appropriate, professional and representative of the way you would like other professionals to see you. LinkedIn shares what percentage of your profile is complete with you to track the process. If possible, aim to fill 100% of your profile to boost your name in search results.
    
3. Build your network
   LinkedIn may ask if you want to automatically connect with contacts in your email address book that are also using LinkedIn. If you have professional contacts in your address book, this option is a quick way to get your network started. LinkedIn will suggest connections with people who have details in common with you.

   Keep in mind: To connect with a new contact, you must have a first-degree connection in common, such as a shared company/institution, person or group. If you want to connect with someone and you're not a first-degree connection, send a direct message to the person to request it. You should also join as many groups as you'd like that are relevant to your field.

    
4. Additional tips

   Like all social media channels, the more you interact on LinkedIn, the richer the experience you’ll have, and the more visible your profile will become. Try to post at least weekly updates or share relevant information in your field regularly. Also, engage when others in your network post updates.

 

Link Networks

Linking all your networks together across the social platforms you use will allow your followers to easily engage with you and find out more about the work you do. 

Feature your social media channels on your blog or other sites with which you’re affiliated to create a seamless experience for your followers. This simple step helps your readers get to know you – and your work – better. Linking all the networks you’re associated with allows followers of (for example) your Facebook page to discover your blog or read articles you have written.

An effective and easy way to showcase all of your networks is to add your social media usernames and website URLs to the ‘bio’ or ‘about me’ sections of your social profiles. Include links to your blog or university webpages, other social media channels, as well as the link to buy your book from Routledge.com.

As URLs for blogs and websites can be quite long, you can shorten them using services such as Bitly or TinyURL. Your audience has chosen to follow you because of your unique perspective and expertise, and sharing  the different opportunities for people to connect with you will help expand your reach.
 

Listen, Respond and Realise

It’s important to listen to conversations happening in your social media timeline, respond to engagement from others and realise your intentions when communicating.

[Side Tip: Social media is an opportunity for you to connect and network with people relevant to you and your work.]
 

Listen

Keep your finger on the pulse of the conversations and trends emerging within your social networks. By using social media, you’ll encounter people you might not have otherwise had the chance to connect with, so take this opportunity to learn from their perspectives.

Respond

Conversations on social media are meant to be a two-way street, so don’t be afraid to ask follow-up questions, thank people who engage with your posts or send people direct messages when you feel the situation calls for it. When people reach out to you on social media, hold up your end of the conversation and stay involved to keep the discussion moving.

Show your appreciation for other people’s great work by leaving positive comments or sharing content you feel is interesting or well-done. People may return the favour and help spread the word about some of your posts.
 

Realise

Remember why you’re on social media: To connect and network with people relevant to you and your work. While social media is great for expanding your reach, it can be all too easy to get carried away. Try to focus on following people who share your interests. By being selective with the people you follow and aiming for quality over quantity, you’ll naturally make more meaningful connections, eliminate clutter on your newsfeeds and reach the people who will be most enthusiastic and interested in your work.

 

Plan Your Content
 

Developing a presence on social media can be overwhelming, but planning your posts ahead of time will help you maintain control of what you share and ensure the right message is getting out at just the right time.

If you’re looking for a few social media post ideas to get you started, below are our top recommendations:

• Share your book’s publishing date or the dates of any relevant conferences or promotional events that you will be attending.
• Draw attention to positive reviews your book receives from relevant websites or magazines by sharing them on social media.

Important note: You can’t use Amazon reviews because Amazon owns them.

• Write a post (or perhaps several posts) about why you decided to write your book. This adds a personal touch that allows readers to get to know and connect with you.
• Share relevant content posted by other users. You can share these posts with or without your additional commentary.
• Link to blog posts (either written by you or by someone else in your field) that you think would be of interest to your followers. Once you’re comfortable with the social media platforms you have chosen to use, you may want to add a multimedia approach to your strategy through channels such as Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest or Flickr. These social media sites focus on images and video. 

Don’t forget to also share the content you create on these new channels on your blog, website or other social media sites!
 

Conclusion

This article is meant to help you find your voice and grow your community on social media. While it may seem difficult to stand out with so many voices out there, there are plenty of people who will share your interests. Creating and taking ownership of an effective social media strategy is your opportunity to tap into that audience and share your work.

Co-editor of the recently published book, “Within and Beyond Citizenship: Borders, Membership and Belonging”, with Roberto G. Gonzales, Nando Sigona has some valuable advice on the responsibility of academics using social platforms:

“I see the dissemination of my work to different audiences, inside and outside academia, as an essentiall part of my job as an academic in a state-funded university. Reaching different audiences requires us to think creatively about how we communicate our research. I have run an academic blog (Postcards from...) since 2008 and regularly share my thoughts through Twitter (@nandosigona), engage with mainstream media (which at times can be stressful) and often write columns for online media like TheConversation and OpenDemocracy. Besides these more ‘traditional’ channels, I have also experimented with theatre and short videos. Sometimes visibility may expose one to abuses... but there is also much to gain. My TEDx talk, for example, helped me to build links with academics and activists on migrants’ rights in the US and internationally... [S]ocial media can help you develop a public profile and make one’s work more visible, with it comes also more responsibility as what you do and what you say it is accessible to a larger audience.”

To learn more about our Author Direction Series and view additional content, visit our Author Resources page.
 

References 

Charlesworth, Alan. An Introduction to Social Media Marketing. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015. Print.
Heinze, Aleksej, Gordon A. Fletcher, Tahir Rashid, and Ana Cruz. Digital and Social Media Marketing: A Results-driven Approach. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. Print.
Veletsianos, George. Social Media in Academia: Networked Scholars. New York and London: Routledge, 2016. Print. 
Sigona, N. 23 June 2017. Email Interview. 
Walden, Stephanie. "Modern Authors Delve Into Digital and Visual Storytelling." Mashable. Mashable, 02 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 July 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG4FsNiIs1ohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG4FsNiIs1o
https://www.routledge.com/Within-and-Beyond-Citizenship-Borders-Membership-and-Belonging/Gonzales-Sigona/p/book/9781138285521