For author and experts in today’s rapidly changing marketplace, participation in social networking is a must. Lucky for us, the technology to help us build meaningful professional relationships now exists. So authors/experts: if you aren’t already tapping into the power of social media, we have one question for you. Why not?
How does social media play into the overall promotion of you and your book? Here’s how it boils down. While your publicist works to make connections for you with the media, you ought to be working on your online visibility; once we generate interest with a reporter, guess where that reporter is headed next? Your blog. Your Facebook page. Your Twitter account. Your LinkedIn page.
That’s right. Your name will likely be Googled, and if the results don’t reveal your expert knowledge and your well-honed message, that interview just might go to the next person on the journalist’s list.
Whether your first book is still months away from pub date or you’ve already published three, the time to get started is now. The options are numerous, but the road to establishing yourself as a credible expert source through your online presence doesn’t have to be confusing or overwhelming.
Before you log on, read up. We’ve compiled a quick guide to one social networking platform you can’t afford to miss: Twitter. Learn the basics and you’ll be on your way to streamlining your personal brand, boosting your credibility, maximizing your exposure, and broadening your fan base, too.
Start with Twitter
Called “micro-blogging,” Twitter allows you to post short, bite-sized updates about your life to a community of followers. The updates are 140 characters (or less) and bring you closer to people who share things in common with you. Twitter has quickly become the most essential online networking tool for authors.
Why Twitter?
First, reporters use Twitter. Journalists often post questions as a time-saving tool to help develop angles and gather targeted feedback for their stories. Some outlets go straight to the Twitter-verse during news meetings. Following media who you want to reach with your message will help you not only stay “on the radar” and interface directly with the media you aim to reach, but you’ll be up on the trends and know what’s happening in the news before it reaches the paper. You’ll be educated on a reporter’s news beat, making you a more relevant, newsworthy source when the time is right.
How to tweet?
Sign up for a free account at Twitter.com. To help build your personal brand, use your real name along with a headshot, rather than a more elusive, creative handle. Regular, frequent updates are the key to using Twitter. Chime in with your thoughts on breaking news item, post details on your upcoming book events, host a book giveaway, join “Tweet-Ups,” or discussion groups on topics in your area of expertise. Get the most out of Twitter by interacting with your community of followers. Use the Direct Message feature to send a brief note to compliment or congratulate someone on a big announcement, or even to make an introduction with someone you might not know personally.
Download applications like OpenBeak, TinyTwitter, Tweetie, or TwitterFon and post virtually from anywhere!
Who should I follow?
Clicking the follow button will likely cause that user to follow you in return, as long as you prove to be a legitimate Twitter-er (with a track record of regular, frequent posts). Here are a few places to start.
- Follow your publicist: twitter.com/prbythebook!
- Follow the newsmakers you want to feature you in turn (for example, the book editor at the Dallas Morning News: twitter.com/mmerschel).
- Follow the radio host who just interviewed you and you’ll show them you respect and appreciate their work enough to keep in touch.
- Follow your fans! Use the search box to find mentions of your book or your name and see who is Tweeting about you.
- Follow industry trendsetters and bloggers who cover your area of expertise.
Note: Aim to keep your follow/follower ratio close. In other words, Twitter is a two-way discussion; no one wants to follow someone who won’t follow them back.
Resources:
- Mashable.com – Twitter Guide Book
- Twitter.com – Twitter for Business
- Editor Unleashed – “Authors on Twitter: Who’s Getting it Right?”
- The Book Publicity Blog (Penguin Publishing House publicity) – “How Twitter works and why people in the publishing world should consider using it”
- HuffingtonPost.com – “Best Friends Forever: Authors and their Readers on Twitter and Facebook”
Contributed by PR by the Book, LLC., an Austin-based literary publicity firm. Contact Marika Flatt at (512) 560-6787 or marika@prbythebook.com. Learn more at www.prbythebook.com.
Tags: PR By the Book, social networking, twitter
