Authenticity on Social Media

 

I was quite irritated by a post I read on Twitter the other day and I got into quite an argument with the person who posted. They said they had considered refollowing some people they had unfollowed. They had unfollowed them because it was important for them to have more followers than they followed. This was pressure from an agent.

I can understand several things here. An agent has to make money and they’ll make more form their authors if they sell well which they may indeed if they have a big following on social media. In my role as a publisher I’m pleased to see authors who are proactive on social media. And I will unfollow in some circumstances: for example if someone is being offensive or if they keep trolling.  But it seems to me immoral to unfollow if someone is not being useful to you.

But that isn’t the whole story and in fact I’d cringe if I saw one of our authors being inauthentic on social media. In fact, I might cringe so much that I wouldn’t publish them again.

Surely bottom line = you follow people because they are interesting and your ambition is to have people follow you because you are interesting.

There is a grey area; you want to follow back people who follow you.  You may be able to help each other. That was always true of normal networking. But it usually works better if you think in terms of what you have to offer rather than what you have to gain.

So what’s the difference between authentic and inauthentic?

Authentic

Liking only what you genuinely like

Following people who seem interesting

Seeing social media as a tool rather than a master  

Limiting the amount of time you spend on it

Remembering your readers and brightening their day

Having the courage to raise something that may be controversial

Posting things other than the product or service you’re trying to sell

Posting different types of material on different platforms   

Remembering it’s “social” media not “marketing” media

Offering something to the world

Being generous in sharing, liking and responding to a post that deserves it

Not expecting all of your posts to be liked commented upon or shared but being grateful when they are

Tagging people because you are posting something you think they ought to know about

Inauthentic

Liking a post because you feel obliged to and because you think you might gain something from it

Following someone just became they’ve followed you or in the hope that they will

Unfollowing people just because that don’t follow you

Tagging people as a way of showing off and making them aware of just how good you are

Becoming a slave to social media

Going into a sulk because people don’t respond to every post you make

Constantly screaming “buy my book, buy my book”

Putting exactly the same post on every platform

Shying away from the controversial because you don’t want to offend or be trolled

Expecting only to gain without offering something in return

Liking and sharing because you don’t want to offend the person who has posted  

 

There is possibly an argument that one tries to appear authentic in order to gain kudos. But is that actually sustainable?  

 

Recommended: be authentic on social media – it’s much more fun than being a pain.

 

Keeping the Lid on Social Media

 

Social media can be a boon and it certainly can help the isolated writer feel more connected with the world. During the Covid 19 pandemic it has probably been a life-line for many. It is powerful tool. But it also may become a tyrant and we have to make sure we master it and it doesn’t master us.

I start my day with a visit to either Twitter, Linked-in or Facebook. This time of year though, I play with my Jacquie Lawson advent calendar for a short while before I settle down to work.

Then at various intervals thought the day I’ll pop into my social media platforms. Also, when I trawl through my emails after lunch I will also see some notifications from my various social media accounts which I will follow up.  But I only do this for half an hour.  I then move on to answering only the important emails and the rest of them are ditched.

I’m not too concerned how many likes etc. I get because I only like what I genuinely like and have time to give some attention to. It’s a bonus when it happens.  It’s not a disaster if it doesn’t.

I’m also quite careful that for every proactive piece I put out there I respond to four other messages. In addition only about one in ten of my posts will be about self-promotion.

Sometime I will get involved in a good old political argument and it can get tricky. Then you have to remember that you can just walk away from it and mute or disconnect form anyone who is giving you grief. It’s good thought that we can express our views openly and find like-minded people. So, there are clearly some advantages and some disadvantages:

 

Advantages

• You can connect with people from all over the world.
• You can connect with people you’ve never met.
• If all else has failed when you have an issue with a big company a tweet can perform miracles (we got our broadband fixed that way)
• If you have a sound idea others will promote it for you – think of the power of the retweet.
• It offers free advertising.
• You may also come across opportunities through it.
• You can get rid of nuisances easily

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

 

Disadvantages

·         It can become addictive.

·         It can become time-consuming.

·         You may feel under pressure to keep up.

·         You may encounter trolls.

Bottom line advice

Enjoy it and keep it under control.  It is there to serve you not to rule you.

How I choose books - and what that might mean for my own marketing

 

Or if you want to sell your books to me.

I buy lots of books. I have 117 pages of unread books on my Kindle. These include classics, literary texts, holiday reads, books by people I know, non-fiction mainly to do with areas I’m researching, books on creativity, books like the ones I’m trying to write, and books on the craft of writing. I’ve probably missed out come categories. Some texts are in French, German or Spanish.

Here I analysed how I’ve come to buy these books and I put these influencers in order.  Then I look at what that might imply for the way I should market my own books.

Reading what I know

If I come across a book by an author I’ve read before, and if I’ve enjoyed their work, I’ll generally buy – or borrow from the library – their new book once I’m aware of it. Here’s an interesting example:

I bought a really tatty copy of Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy from a second-hand bookshop. I enjoyed it so much that I went to read all of her books, sometimes buying them as hardbacks as soon as they came out.

I’ll also often buy books written by people I know, sometimes even if they’re not quite the sort of thing I’d normally enjoy reading.  It’s called friendship.

 

Book events

I really enjoy these events though I do only tend to go to the ones where the sort of book I’m likely to like is being presented. Listening to the author read, finding out the story behind the book and seeing it there is its 3D reality normally persuades me to buy it.

 

Lists in my mailbox

I’m on a couple of email lists and bookshops like Amazon and The Hive and publishers such as Simon Shuster or Penguin Random often email me as well. I sometimes find something I like the look of there. The Hive is particularly good at knowing what I would like.

 

Social media

I’m actually glad that people post about their book releases on Twitter and Facebook. I’m not obliged to buy the ones that don’t interest me. I’m glad to be alerted to the ones that might interest me.

 

 

Book reviews in magazines

I often pick up reading ideas in magazine I read. These include, Mslexia, Writing Magazine, The Tome Higher Education Supplement and the Sunday Times.

 

Bookshops

I can’t resist them.  Many a time I’ve gone shopping for clothes and come back with a book.  

So, now you know what to do if you want me to buy your book.  And if I want to find people like me as readers of my work I must:

·         Tell all my friends and acquaintances about my work. This is actually the hardest to do but it is the most effective marketing tool:  WORD OF MOUTH.

·         Arrange a snazzy book event. Okay, it might be a loss leader but I may pick up some of those readers who will buy my work again and again.

·         Build up my email list and use it effectively.

·         Put my work on social media.

·         Get reviews in quality publications. This is tricky. However, both Mslexia and  Writing Magazine offer feature type ads that you pay for.  The prices are reasonable  

·         Approach local bookshops about stocking my book

In that order.

There you have it! Happy reading and marketing!    

Image by InstagramFOTOGRAFIN from Pixabay 

Authorpreneurs

These have been around for a while I’m thinking, but the word has only recently been established. It describes those authors who are not only fantastic writers but who then proactively market their work. They show that they are business people in every aspect of their work.

 

Car salesman attitude

I’ve frequently said that we writers have to be quite dual-aspected; it may be fine to spend one part of the day wrapped up cosily in our garrets, penning the best work ever.  Then we have to become extrovert, assertive, strategic and maybe even a little bit manipulative. It doesn’t feel natural to a creative practitioner. But this attitude can also make a difference to how we react to rejections; we might come to regard these as rewrites. 

 

Imposter syndrome

I have to admit I’m not so keen on the marketing side of things and I know I’m not alone in this. I find it much easier to promote other people’s work than my own.  Am I really a writer? Should I really expect the public to want to pay to read my work?

Now hang on a minute. Most of my rejections these days say that the writing is good. I have more than 48 works in print and that includes a handful of full length novels. I have two post-graduate degrees in creative writing and a university saw fit to employ me full-time, eventually at senior lecturer level, and even though I’m now retired they keep getting me back for odd jobs. Come on, woman.  

Of course people should pay to read my work. As they should pay to read yours.

So what does this authorpreneur look like?

Accounting

She pays her taxes and knows when and what to claim for expenses.

 

Engagement

She engages with her readership through blogs, talks, launches, school visits and posts on social media.

 

Advertising strategies

She will use free or paid-for advertising strategically. She will keep records of this and work out which options work the best.

 

Professional help   

She knows when to get professional help with PR.

 

Genuine use of Social Media

She will use social media wisely – it is not all about “buy my book, buy my book”.  She only likes what she genuine likes and only spends about 20% of her time there on direct or indirect promotion. The rest of the time she is just herself or indeed promoting others.

Wants, needs and benefits

In her interaction with her readers she is aware of their wants and needs and offers them benefits.  What do they gain by buying her book, joining her mailing list, hosting her on a blog or attending her event? However, she is savvy enough always to include a call to action.

Building her brand, platform and mailing list

She does this more and more skilfully. Yet she works with what she enjoys most.  She is careful not to spam her readers and always to offer them something worthwhile.

Retaining objectivity about reviews and sales figures

She knows that the only valid reaction to poor reviews or sales figures is to regard them as useful information and do something to change what is happening. However, she must also learn to recognise trolls and not be over-worried by them.    

 

Discipline      

She is disciplined about ring-fencing her writing time and is consistent in demanding to be paid for her work, though also knows when a free gift may be an effective loss-leader.  

Are you an authorpreneur?

Promoting your books via social media?

We all do it – myself included. I do try for every promotional post to make four others that are just friendly. I actually rarely buy books that I’ve seen promoted via social media. That’s in part because I have so many books to read at the moment. I have forty hard copies waiting in the bedroom, about 256 on my Kindle and I go to the library as well. Occasionally, though, I am tempted to buy one I come across via social media. Below I’ve listed what makes this happen:

 

Really interesting blog / Twitter / Facebook  post elsewhere

I guess here I’m buying the book because I’m interested in the person. Sure, the theme or topic of the book has to be interesting too - I’m not sure I’d ever go for a western but even here there’s an exception.  Caroline Lawrence’s Roman Mysteries were so good that I’m tempted a little by her Western series. Sometimes it’s just curiosity. This person is saying a lot that is interesting here.  Her books probably are too.

 

Right up my street

Maybe the book is very similar to something I’m writing, have written or am thinking about, or might be really useful as a research tool. However, if I’m proactively looking for something like that, I’m more likely to go directly to Amazon or a review site.

Twitter remains my favourite – just.

I love the power of this platform. Retweets can be awesome. You can soon get through the six handshakes if your post is retweeted and retweeted. I retweet often – especially when I come across gorgeous photos, links to interesting articles, amusing and inspiring quotes, the latest news and opportunities for writers.  All too often though there is book promotion after book promotion and it gets a little boring. I tend to skip those and even when I do buy one of these books because I’ve found the writer interesting, I’ll tend to do that via another platform. I suppose it happens partly because I follow so many other writers.

The trick, I guess, is to make yourself interesting and also ensure that there is a way for your followers to find your books if they want to.  

Other platforms

I occasionally like to read the meatier comments on Facebook though I initially found the whole platform counterintuitive. I like the business-like attitude of Linked-in and intend in future to keep my CV there. I’m using Pinterest for research and will try Instagram soon.

Serendipity

Some things do seem to come from nowhere. “How did you find me?” I ask a teacher who has booked me for a school visit. “I used Google and found a comment on Twitter relating to you blog post about school visits.” There you have it.

The point is, we have to keep up our presence on social media but never become boring. Now, there’s a challenge.