What Is A Good Social Media Strategy For Authors?

 

Authors can no longer afford to operate without being active on social media any more than one could succeed in life without access to a smart phone, credit card, or a drivers license.

Ok, before you get cutesy to dispute my analogy, get real. Sure, millions survive without a car and many use a flip phone or have a debit card instead of a credit card, but there are too many advantages and conveniences to using things like a smart phone that it is becoming less feasible and impractical to operate without such things.

It has gotten to the point that social media is more of a must than an option for authors. It pains me to acknowledge this, because I understand that many writers view social media with aspersions, believing it can easily be a wasteland playground for nonsense, a time suck, and a frustrating medium. They are not wrong, but they must also see it as a tool that can be used for good, to generate book sales, message awareness, and author branding. It just has to be done right.  

To deny yourself of the potential benefits of social media, Ludite authors will need to compensate for the absence of social media, and work harder to make up for it in other areas, such as securing book reviews, speaking at events, having a blog, seeking book awards, using direct mail or finding marketing situations that you are better suited for.

So what could and should an author do?

1. Commit to devoting some time, mental capacity, and resources to regularly using social media.

2. Learn to become proficient on at least one, maybe two major platforms. You can’t afford to be inactive and on the sidelines, but you won’t have the bandwidth to actively promote on three or more platforms unless you have hired help.

Likely Facebook will serve you well. It is still the biggest and most recognizable platform internationally. It has lots of groups and ways to find your targeted readers.

If you have a visual product, such as a cookbook, travel guide, gym workout guide, coffee table book  or art book — and you have lots of images to share, then Instagram can be for you. If you like to make videos, Instagram or Tik Tok works well, though you can post them on FB as well. Age can be a factor. Gen Z and Millenials lean to Instagram. Gen X and Baby Boomers litter FB. 

LinkedIn is good for professionals seeking jobs and useful connections. Writers can find journalists, publishers, other authors, and trade associations but many authors, especially novelists, poets, and children’s book authors will not find their consumer readers there. X is a playground for celebrities, politicians, crazies, people who like to argue, conspiracy theorists, and people who like to vent. It may be useful to some authors.

3. Develop a schedule to post regularly, consistently and effectively. Create relevant content with an image that gives a voice to your message and comes across with a certain persona. You should post something that ties into your approach to writing, the themes in your books, and anything interesting about your background that could spur an interest in your books. Where possible, post things on social media that appear on your web site, such as links to articles, resources, videos, blog posts, podcasts, photos, etc.

4. Avoid responding to online comments, and where possible, in getting sucked into lengthy engagements with people online. Just use social media to serve a purpose and not to socialize, settle scores, or entertain yourself.

5. Actively hunt for new followers and connections. This means soliciting others to connect and not you just waiting/hoping for people to share or respond to your posts.  

You need relevant, timely, supportive content to post: 

* Images and videos

* Links to your site: blog posts, articles, free downloads

* Book reviews 

* Awards won

* Events that you spoke at or participated in

* Content that ties your message into the news cycle, anniversaries, trends, stats, or famous people 

Are you: 

*The expert with advice, sharing an inside perspective?

*A curator of other people’s content?

*An amateur sharing your journey?

*Seen as a victim or hero?

*Witty or a whiny complainer?

*Helpful and resourceful?

*Supportive and inspiring?

*An enigma — an oddball, one who has an unusual life, provider of contrarian views, or the sharer of strange wit?

*An advocate/reformer? 

The bottom line here is this: it is time for all authors to take social media seriously, embrace it, learn how to do it well, and to execute a strategy that they can control and dictate. 

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum