The Ultimate Guide to Social Media for Writers 2023

This doesn’t mean that you can’t reach your followers organically. If reaching followers more effectively and efficiently is your concern, then advertising is the best way forward. This way you can spend more time writing and less time pampering your social media accounts for organic traffic. The truth is that gaining a following on social media organically takes a lot of time. Time that you’d rather spend writing.

On the flip side, putting money out there for ads can be scary. Especially when you’re not making a lot of money yet, or you’re not sure what you’re doing.

Social media is a wonderful tool for both professional and personal reasons. It helps you to keep in touch with friends, family, fans, and potential clients. There are many different platforms out there, each with their own unique features. These include, but are not limited to:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Tiktok
• Goodreads

So, which one is best for you? It all depends on exactly what you are looking for and how much time and energy you are willing to dedicate to social media.

Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms. It not only has the largest user base, but is also one of the most widely used for all demographics. No matter what you write, your market definitely exists on Facebook.

With Facebook, authors have three ways to market their books and writings:

• Using your Personal Facebook Profile
• Creating an Author Page
• Joining or Creating an Author Group

Your personal Facebook profile is exactly what it says. Some have had success with this. Personally though, I prefer not to mix business with my personal life.

An author page is your official writer page where you can post about your works or anything that is happening in your genre or subject matter. This tends to be the preferred choice for most writers. With a Facebook Page, you have more control of the social media marketing aspect of your writing. You can also dictate whether your followers have the ability to post on your page or not.

A Facebook Group could be a good fit for you as well, especially for beginning or newer authors. Creating a group of like-minded fans of your genre can keep you relevant and always attracting new readers.

As of right now, there are very few platforms anywhere that are more watched than Twitter. From celebrity gossip to presidential politics, Twitter has become a place where you can experience it all. It is a huge arena to exchange ideas and get your author brand out there. From a business standpoint, Twitter can be a powerful tool if utilized correctly.

Twitter provides a fast-paced platform for you to pitch your writing. By limiting the amount of characters that can be used, Twitter encourages the elevator pitch format. Get your point out there. Bring in followers. That simple.

It’s also a great place to build a following. You see, many Twitter users act on a follow-for-follow policy. So, all you need to do is find and follow those who may be interested in your work or those who you are interested in. Normally when you follow an individual, that person will follow you back. You help each other build fan bases. An I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine kinda thing. Building a following has never been easier.

Instagram is very different than the previous two social media platforms. Its biggest focus is on the picture or photo posted. (PS : follow me on instagram at _anu.nair )

There are many authors on Instagram posting exciting and engaging social media content via pictures and stories. Creative pictures of their work or simple quotes are just a part of them. Many Instagram authors take wonderful photos of their inspirations in order to show their followers a peek into how the writing gets done.

Don’t let Instagram’s artistic nature fool you. This may be one of the best social media platforms to promote on or get book reviews from Bookstagrammers (#bookstagram). Instagram is perfect for setting up giveaways and promotions! There is a caveat to this, however. Just like Amazon and Amazon Affiliates, there are some simple rules that must be followed. Make sure you comply so you can run a successful promo.

TikkTok is the prime example of a social network that has evolved over time to be something genuinely unique.

It is primarily a video platform for short-form videos, but it allows for interaction between videos in a way that you can't find anywhere else. You can post reactions to certain videos and even do a “duet” with those videos, allowing for further interaction.

TikTok is primarily geared for a younger audience, but more and more people in older demographics are beginning to flock to the platform, and it's starting to become a global phenomenon.

And right now TikTok is still young, which means that discoverability is great. Put in the work, and you have a good chance of finding readers there. And that translates directly to book sales.

Where to start? I would look at other accounts that are posting under the hashtag #booktok and seeing what they do, then dive in and start creating your own content!

Goodreads is an author platform designed specifically for writers. It exists for the sole purpose of connecting authors and their readers. Pretty neat, huh?

One of the best features of Goodreads is how you actually register for the site. Instead of business and personal pages like Facebook, you have reader and author options available. Each option has its own special abilities.

Most people on Goodreads actually join as readers not authors. When registering as a reader, you list all the books you have read then rank and review them using a 5-star system.

When signing up for the Goodreads Author Program, you are able to take full advantage of some neat features unavailable to readers. For example, you can utilize Goodreads advertising tools. At $0.15 per click, you can control targeted adverts to your readership or another author's. Ruthless. Goodreads also has marketing tools to help you set up book giveaways and other sweet promos.

Your Goodreads ranking can also help you determine how well your book will do on Amazon!