Susan Reichert
Social Media. We all use it. After all, social media is comprised of websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking, according to the dictionary.
For an author this is supposed to be very helpful. It lets us tell people about our books, entice people to like us and get to know us and hopefully buy our books.
While an author needs to tell people about their books, I do believe we need to be tasteful in the way we do it. We have seen from the Covid vaccine, some people do not like people pushing things on them. So, authors do not want to turn people off by pushing our books on them, nor do we want them to feel like we are.
Authors will want to use social media to build contacts. Telling people about our books and having them follow us is one thing, learning how to nurture those people to build relationships with them is another, one that is most important.
We all have people who like us. Do we pay attention to what is of interest to them?
Social media is an avenue used for communicating with others immediately and getting feedback right away.
We want these relationships that we develop on social media to have interest in staying in contact, seeing what is going on, and participating as much as they would like. The more they do, the more they will tell others about us and that will bring new people to our sites.
One thing I want to say here is, we should not get mixed up in political commentaries of hate. If we have created this social media to tell people about our books and to build contacts we will not want that to be associated with anything that has a hint of anger, rebellion, or hatred. So, staying away from making comments on those things is most important.
It is very important to build a solid foundation with people we interact with on social media. We want them to feel good when they are communicating with us and reading what we are saying. This and finding out what their interest are will keep them coming back.
Years ago, I was taught that people do business with people they like. I believe that to be true even more so today. If you care about people, they will care about you.
Getting to know and care about others makes the world a better place.
Treating the person on social media the way we want to be treated will create a new relationship and follower and probably someone who not only will buy your books but tell their friends about you too.
Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.
She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.
She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi
Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/
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Susan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this insightful article for every author. Each of us use social media but need to be reminded that we buy books from people we know, like and trust--and that process takes continued effort and consistency. We are in publishing for the long haul and not short term.
Terry
author of Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success (Revised Edition)
Thank you so much Terry for your comment, I certainly agree we are in it for the long haul and gain so much by nurturing our relationships through the years.
DeleteThis is true, Susan. I avoid people who engage in political conflicts, harsh opinions, and slander. Social media is a great place to interact with distant family, friends, and making and connecting with new friends. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Loretta for sharing your thoughts on interacting with social media. I so appreciate it.
DeleteSo agree, Susan! We should use social media to let others know about our books, but not do a 'hard' sell. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Patricia for your comment. It's a great place to share with others when our books release and to tell them about it.
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