Social Media Best Practices for Your Author Blog
Welcome to the fifth installment of our authors and blogging series. We’ve shown you how blogging can help authors reach an audience, things to consider when starting a blog, how to create a must-read blog, and why social media is essential for your blog. Read on to learn social media best practices for your blog.
Which Social Media Should You Use?
It’s unrealistic to think you could actively engage with every social media platform unless you hire a social media manager. Pick one or two to start with and master them. You can always expand to other platforms later.
Facebook is by far the largest social media site, so it’s a good place to start. If you’re an illustrator, consider visual-based platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat are great for sharing videos. X (formerly Twitter) offers 280-character snippets of sharable information.
Every author should use Goodreads. This Amazon-owned book-based website boasts over ninety million members, who are readers and authors. Here, you can promote your books, network with authors, and link to your blog.
When Should You Post on Social Media?
Since social media drives traffic to your blog, it’s important to post strategically to optimize reach.
Most research indicates weekday afternoons are best for reaching the most people. But if your readers are parents of young children, they may be on social media after their kids are in bed or on weekends when they’re off from work.
To find out what works for your readers, review your own data. Facebook Pages offers Facebook Insights. You can discover the days and times your fans are online and then schedule your posts accordingly. You can also view the reach and engagement of each post. Other platforms offer their own versions of Insights, so make sure to utilize them.
Share and Engage
Add share buttons to your home page and the top and bottom of each post to encourage readers to share it. Likewise, always share blog posts on your own social media platforms to highlight your content and drive traffic to it.
Apply the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of social media should be useful to your audience and 20 percent should promote your brand. Useful posts educate, inform, or entertain. Sharing others’ content is a smart strategy as people often reciprocate.
Let readers know of exclusive content on your blog, and don’t forget to include images or videos because they attract more hits. Use hashtags that people can search for online. For example, #kidlit is a popular hashtag for children’s authors.
Lastly, engage with your audience authentically and consistently. This creates goodwill and loyalty toward your brand.
Social media is essential for growing your blog. Choose a few sites to delve into, and make social media best practices part of your routine. Your blog traffic will experience the benefits.
This post was written by Maria Wen Adcock and originally posted in the SCBWI Kid LIt News 2021 Newsletter: Summer Edition ©All rights reserved. All content is copyrighted ©2021 The SCBWI Long Island, NY. SCBWI.org Kid LIt News is an educational newsletter of the Long Island, New York region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the international organization for professionals in children’s publishing.