It’s Called Social for a Reason

This is a reprint of an a recent article I wrote for the Open Door Publications newsletter.  Open Door Publications helps authors to self-publish their books.

Is it possible to explain how to promote a book on Facebook and Twitter in a 500 word article? Five hundred words, that’s more than 15 tweets.  No problem.

Many of you may already have LinkedIn profiles, and if you have older children, you have had to deal with their usage of MySpace and Facebook. Of late, more and more adults have joined Facebook, swelling its membership to 175 million users worldwide.  How many of these people do you have to interact with to successfully promote your book?

Social networking is just that, a social activity, and most of the basic rules of social interaction apply here. Facebook users are looking for a relationship with you; they want be able to ask questions and get answers.  Most of you are interested in publishing a book or article because you have something to share with the larger world. For some, the book is the end product, for others, it is a tool to promote a business by establishing your expertise and credibility. Facebook permits you to further establish that expertise by interacting with a self-selecting group of people.

Promoting your book on Facebook:

Depending on what you intend to promote, create a Facebook ID for your book or for yourself. Search for people you already have relationships with and “friend” them by inviting them to join you by e-mail.

As you start posting entries on your Facebook page, the entries will also appear on your friends’ Facebook pages where their friends can see them. Facebook users will often declare themselves to be your fans (a status setting, not a verbal pronouncement) which will also be posted on their page.

• Create an interest group. This is a particularly good strategy if you are attempting to establish your credentials as an expert.
• Link your blog to your Facebook ID. That way any entries in your blog will automatically appear on your Facebook page and drive traffic back to your blog.
• Update your Facebook page regularly to keep it fresh.  Interact with your fans.  Be interesting and informative and provide them with reasons to come back

Tweeting on Twitter

Twitter has only 5 million users, but appears close to the tipping point. Some people have likened Twitter to an enormous cocktail party in which there are too many conversations for you to follow, so you eavesdrop on various discussions until you find ones that engage you.

Tweeters don’t have “friends,” they have “followers.”  Before you can be followed on Twitter you must first follow other people. While Twitter etiquette does not require you to follow everyone who follows you, many people will follow you in return.  “Retweeting” a message will also encourage fellow tweeters to support you in turn.

Tweeters are looking for relationships, not marketing.  If your are interesting, informative and entertaining and if you are willing to interact with your followers, no one will mind the occasional plug for your book, your website, your Facebook page, or your blog. Just don’t do it too often.

To help you find Tweeters to follow, follow MrTweet, who will provide you with a list of 200 tweeters with shared interests. Or use Twitter’s keyword search to find tweets that reference a specific keyword.

Tags: self-publishing, social networking

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 12:17 pm and is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.