#LIRWSocialM workshop 2/22
at Huntington LIbrary, New York

An author today must be an entrepreneur.  Each must select carefully their social media tools to engage, gain access and create a platform to broadcast.

This new hybrid author is comfortable with being uncomfortable in a world where they themselves are the gate keepers, the leaders, the ones in charge with no exact path to follow as each business, each author is unique. Fearless, these authors, proceed ahead as though they will magically walk on water. Yet, with a little knowledge and a little practice, a fear of sinking into the depths of water will disappear and be replaced by skillfully navigating a slippery constantly changing sidewalk sheen. Change is a sincere constant for entrepreneurs.

Writing is an expensive venture not just in time but also financial resources to successfully complete and launch any book endeavor. With that in mind, there are several time and cost saving social media resources available to authors who will create and direct their own book marketing campaign.

17 Social Media Tools for Author Entrepreneurs:

1. Twitter is a brilliant micro-blogging service offering access and opportunities to engage from industry leaders and readers. A time saving secret is to create lists and use hashtags (#) effectively. Create your lists of your relevant agents, publishers, illustrators, reviewers, media, supporters and favorite inspiring leading authors. Build your network, follow, share, reply and engage.

A poet once asked, “What is worth more – 200 active engaged followers or 2,000 followers?”

In this new social media dynamic, in my opinion, 200 active engaged followers are worth more. Because each one of the 200 may have 200 (out of their own 2,000) active engaged users that presents the opportunity to reach 40,000 people. It is no longer about numbers it is about engaging. If one goal is to sell books, one supportive reader engaged to purchase a book will attract other readers to purchase a book.

2. Facebook author page (see Paulo Coelho’s page) is an opportunity to build a community of supporters. Experiment using Facebook’s feature to schedule posts in advance to coincide with the time supporters are active on Facebook.

3. Goodreads author’s page is another opportunity to engage with readers. A favorite is Paulo Coelho’s author page.

4. Linkedin, an ever growing global professional network, which recently opened up publishing opportunities to members. In addition, members can join professional groups with access to business leaders in all professional sectors.

Social Media Tools for Images

People love images, especially as they are easy on the mind in the rush of information available through social media. Remember copyright laws. A quick tip is – if you didn’t create the image or text – don’t use it. Unless you have asked for permission or obtained the rights to photographs, videos, text and, or music, don’t use it.

There are plenty of options available without violating copyright.

5. Create an archive of stock photos. Take images of nature, the sky, the clouds, trees, colorful walls and more abstracts.

6. Explore Creative Commons for photographs and credit the image appropriate according to the request accompanying the image.

7. Rijks Museum, among the first of museums, is offering free use of images of their collection.

8. The Free Music Archive is another resource to discover music to add to a book trailer or compliment a video.

9. Marktsa is an easy to use app allows creators add text to images. Great for photographers to add copyright information.

10. Animato is a new simple automated system to create videos with images and music.

11. Vine creates a six second video loop. Use your imagination, set a scene, tone that reflects your brand

12. YouTube is perfect for filming a a short book reading segment, a question or a scene. Most effective is a clip shorter than two minutes.

Once images are selected, share and use on a few social media networks such as:

13. Thinglink is brilliant! Create a landing image with links to video, web pages, comments and even a purchasing link. For fresh ideas, explore the channel for Keri Douglas or see this image for Annina Wildermuth’s children’s book, The Little Seahorse.

14. Pinterest is influencing purchases, especially among women. Here is a Favorite Book Pinterest Board. Creative authors can build themed image boards with links directly to a purchase site.

15. Instagram, another image portfolio, is building its presence among the younger users of social media. Authors can build a portfolio for fans and collect endorsements and comments from readers.

Monitor, measure and adjust.

16. Klout shares metrics on engagement through a variety of social media channels. It recently opened up the opportunity to schedule posts via Twitter and Facebook.

17. Kred is another site that offers insights on user engagement in outreach and influence.

The secret to success is to create brief, attractive, and effective visual messages that others may enjoy and share with their network.

If you have any questions, post a comment below. Have fun!

By Keri Douglas, writer/photographer, Washington, D.C. (Please abide by 9 Muses News copyright policy. (Links only, please do not copy/paste into website.)

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