25 Ideas for Social Media Posts

Social media is a key part of every author’s marketing plan. It’s important to check in regularly and post responses and comments. It’s also key to have regular posts. Here are some ideas if you’re looking content ideas for your sites. Readers are interested in you and what you do outside of your writing life.

Post a photo or video of…

1. What you’re reading and get feedback on what others are reading - It’s great to do a shout out to other authors.

2. Your pet (or your neighbor’s pet)

3. Your favorite recipe or a picture of the dish

4. Things you see on your walk

5. Your favorite writing spot

6. Things you see from your writing cave’s window

7. Your desk or your junk drawer

8. Your favorite reading spot

9. Where you’ve been lately and why

10. Your favorite place to vacation

11. Your library or favorite bookstore

12. A request for TV show or movie recommendations

13. Your latest hobby or project

14. Your favorite holiday decorations

15. Your favorite seasonal snack or drink

16. Share a behind the scenes tidbit from one of your book’s locations

17. Share a tip or a hack about how to do something

18. For #ThrowbackThursday or #FlashbackFriday…Everyone has that funny school picture.

19. A sunset or sunrise

20. Things from your garden or flowerbed

21. Your favorite tiny or free library

22. Something that happened on this day in history or in pop culture

23. Places from your hometown

24. Before and after shots of something you’ve changed

25. Your favorite quote

Remember text-only posts don’t do as well. It’s always good to have a photo or a video. You can use a drawing tool to make a graphic to garner more attention for your post.

What other ideas would you add to my list?

How to Increase Your Facebook Following - Tips for Authors

Here are some ways to increase your Facebook following on your author/fan page.

1. Open your personal page and search for your author page. Open it. Locate the ellipse at the top (….) and select Invite friends. You can choose names from the list or search for a specific person. Facebook does limit the number of people you can invite in one day.

2. Watch who likes and shares your posts on your author page. On your author page, click on the like and other icons. A page will appear with a button to invite those who don’t already like your page.

3. Put the link to your author page in your email signature. You’d be surprised at the number of people you correspond with regularly who don’t’ know you’re a writer.

4. On your author business card, make sure to list the key social media sites where they can find you.

5. Make sure you have links to all your key social media sites on your website.

6. Use your author account to like and comment on others’ posts. You want to be social. I was commenting only from my personal site. Now, I set aside some time each day to make sure I do it from my author page, too.

7. When you create your author page/account. Try to keep your name as easy to find as you can. If you use underscores, numbers, or other punctuation, it makes it harder for people to find you and tag you.

8. Check your newsletter and make sure to include links to all your social sites. I use Mail Chimp, and it lets me create the icons and links at the bottom of each edition.

9. If you’re in writing and promotional groups, many will let you post your links to increase your followers. This is a good (free) way to get the word out about your work.

Building Your Following - Tips for Authors

Building a following on social media (or building your author platform) takes time and patience. Here are some things that have worked for me.

• Pick one of your social media sites to work on for a month. Follow 10 new people each day.

• Set aside some time every day (even if it’s only 10-15 minutes) to be engaged on social media. (This is the social part.) Make sure that you like, comment, and share others’ posts. Join in others’ celebrations. Make sure to tag people when you mention them.

• Decide what kinds of followers you want to focus on. Are you looking for bloggers, podcasters, bookstagrammers, readers, librarians? Take a few minutes to look at bios and follow those you have a shared interested with.

• Look at author accounts that are like yours (e.g. your genre). See who follows them and follow them.

• When someone follows you, look at his/her followers. Choose ones that have things in common with you to follow.

• Make a list of themes in your book. For my current series, mine are glamping, vintage trailers, tiny houses, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Search for those topics to find people and accounts interested in your book topics.

• Make sure that you post to your major social sites regularly at whatever interval works for you (e.g. daily, weekly, twice a week, etc.).

• Look at the content of your posts. People are looking for entertainment and information. Your posts shouldn’t all be “buy my book.”

• Use your analytics page to see what posts and what times of day are getting the most attention. Then post (or schedule your posts) during those timeslots.

• Pick one or two of your socials that you want to work on and add the link to your email signature. You’ll be surprised at the people you correspond with that don’t know you’re a writer.

I started out with three Twitter followers. It took a while, but with some care and feeding, it was worth it to watch the accounts grow.

Facebook Takeovers - What are They? What Do I Do?

A Facebook Takeover is when another site (author, book group, etc.) on Facebook lets you control the content for a short period of time to talk about your books and interact with the readers. Usually the administrator of an established group will give you access to the site, so you can post. This allows you to meet an established following, and only members of that group are able to participate in the event. (This means you can’t invite your friends and fans unless they join the group.) Sometimes, takeovers are set up as Facebook Events, and you can usually invite your friends to participate because they are open to anyone who is interested.

Facebook takeovers are promotional tools to help you market your book and meet new readers. I love to interact with people on social media, so I’m excited when I get to introduce my cozies to a new group. Here’s what I’ve learned about takeovers....

• It’s usually a good idea if you’re part of the group or community and that you are familiar with the members and their interests. If you’re not a member, join and visit ahead of your takeover, so they get to know you.

• Follow all the instructions the administrator provides you for posting. Many want you to do a series of give-aways, and they provide guidance about dates, length of the event, prizes, and ways to interact.

• Find give-ways that you can easily mail. Remember, most of these sites have a worldwide audience. If you have restrictions on your contest, you need to specify it up front. (It’s really expensive to mail a book or a mug to another country.)

• Make sure all links work and you have access before your takeover begins.

• Once you agree on a date and time, make sure to create a reminder for yourself, so that you’re not late. Also verify the time zone with the host.

• Check out other takeovers on the site to see what the readers are expecting. Bright, fun graphics and short posts are usually best. I use Canva or BookBrush to create graphics that are sized correctly. I also like to have them branded with my book and website.

• I open a Word document ahead of my event and post a copy of my graphics. and the text that I’m going to use. This allows me to proofread it and make sure it covers everything I want to highlight. Then during the take-over, I just have to copy the block and post the graphic.

• The event is a place for you to introduce yourself and your book. Many authors talk about themes or places in their books and ask questions for the participants to answer in the comments. I make my questions related to an upcoming holiday and my book. (I talk about my sleuth’s job or hobbies and have a contest question about that. There is always a fuzzy sidekick in my book, so I do some kind of question/game with pets. People love to tell you about their pets and show pictures. Clothes, styles, food, and pop culture make great conversation starters.)

• The idea is to have fun and get people to respond to your games or questions. Don’t over-complicate things with too many rules or conditions.

• Some takeovers have multiple authors, and you get usually only one post, but you can add more information and links in the comments. Other events allow multiple posts. Remember, if you do twenty posts, you have to respond to all of them. For a take-over that lasts several hours, I usually do an activity or give-away every 30 minutes.

• This should be a fun time for the participants where they can interact with you. Don’t just post and return only to select a winner. Check in periodically and make sure you react and comment.

• If given a choice, I like to leave the contests open until the next day. This gives people in different time zones a chance to play.

• Let the participants know where they can find you and your books.

• Always thank your hosts and your participants. I usually create a “thank you meme.”

• Check with your host; sometimes they announce the winners. If not, I make a graphic with all the winners. I also post it on my author page and tag the winners.

• Remember that most of these sites or groups are administered by volunteers. Be a gracious guest and not a demanding diva.

Don't Click on That Link - Ways Authors Can Protect Themselves

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The threats out there are constant and dangerous. We have to be vigilant all the time. It only takes one slip to cause big problems. Make sure that you’re protecting yourself. Here are a few suggestions:

• Don’t click on any links or attachments that you can’t verify.

• These attacks can come via email, text, phone call, or social media friend/connection requests.

• Legitimate contacts don’t ask for your login or password.

• Never use the link or the phone number in a suspicious email or text or one that a unsolicited caller gives you. Call/email using a verified contact that you already have or use a search engine to locate the company’s official page and contact information.

• Hackers use social engineering to find ways in. You don’t have to accept every friend request. If it looks suspicious, delete or block it. When you accept them, you give them access to your information. This allows them to harvest information about you and others. Also, it provides them legitimacy when they send a request to your friends. It may look benign to you, but gathering information about causes, vacations, travel, and interests gives them additional ways to appear to connect with you and to lull you into a false sense of security.

• Many of the scams are lonely hearts, causes asking for money or support, or fake friend accounts. If you’re already linked to someone, and you get a second request, be cautious.

• Many of these scams create a sense of urgency or emergency. You need to provide what they’re asking right now or your service will be cut off, you’ll be arrested, you’re in violation, etc. That’s a red flag. When people are rushed or frustrated, they don’t think things through, and they often click or provide information that they shouldn’t. Stop and think before you respond.

• Clicking on a link or an attachment is just as bad as providing your personal information. Many of these install malware or viruses on your computer. They can track your keystrokes, collect personal information, and even turn on your camera and microphone to see/hear what you’re doing.

• Take a minute to look at your security settings on your social media sites. Is all of your information open to the world?

• Make sure that you download your security patches regularly. Security threats change constantly, and you need to make sure you plug any holes in your operating system or applications. Updates take time, but unpatched systems are easy targets.

• Computers running extremely slowly, frequent/unplanned shut downs, pop-ups appearing on your screen when you’re not on the internet, and your friends receiving social media requests or strange emails from you that you didn’t send are signs that you’ve been infiltrated. Change your passwords and get your system scanned and cleaned.

As authors, we want to build our platforms and increase our following. Just be careful. Bots and hackers aren’t the followers you want. Don’t put yourself or your personal information at risk.

20 Bookstagrammers You Need to See

#Bookstagram is a phenomenon of Instagram. It’s a popular hashtag used to showcase books in pretty settings and arrangements. There are all kinds of themes and challenges. If you’re a book lover, check it out. Bookstores, libraries, readers, reviewers, interior designers, and others feature their latest reads and reviews with so much creativity. Here are 20 of my favorites.

In no particular order:

• @ElleryAdamsOfficial

• @SocraticKicks

• @Bookishly_Overdue

• @Kamis_Korner

• @OverflowingShelf

• @The_Reading_Beauty

• @Amandas.Bookshelf

• @neelhtak

• @CozyMysteryCorner

• @ashleyisbookish

• @neverlandbooks

• @teryn_books

• @whatsbethanyreading

• @alysonbookishthoughts

• @Books_and_Benches

• @NeverLoweonBooks

• @berkleyrosereads

• @inked.in.pages

• @escapetothebookshelf

• @wiltedpages

Bookish Hashtags for Authors

Hashtags, Pound Signs, or Octothorpes (#) are ways to tag topics of interest on social media. While Facebook doesn’t lend itself well to them, some of the other sites do. It’s always a good idea to use as many as you can on Twitter and Instagram to widen the reach of your posts. Here are some popular book ones that you may want to check out.

• #AmReading

• #AuthorsofInstagram

• #AuthorsofTwitter

• #BookAholic

• BookChallenges

• #BookCommunity

• #BookDragon

• #BookFollow

• #BookHive

• #BookishAesthetic

• #BookRecommendation

• #BookLover

• #BookNerd

• #BookNerdLife

• #BooksGalore

• #BookShivers

• #Bookstagram

• #BookWorm

• #BooksandWine

• #BookStack

• #BookShelf

• #FaceinaBook

• #IGReads

• #MysteryBookSeries

• #PrettyBookPlaces

• #Shelfies

• #TimetoRead

What's Your Social Media Strategy? Tips for Authors

It’s always good to have a plan or a strategy, especially for your social media posts. Here’s what I’ve learned.

What Works

• Watch your analytics on your sites for a couple of months. Figure out what types of posts are getting the most attention. Do more of those. Do less of what is getting ignored.

• Look to see what time of day you get the most interactions. Schedule your posts during these times.

• Less than 20% of your posts should be “buy my book.”

• Ask questions to get your followers to interact with your posts.

• Make sure that you respond to comments and tags. (Don’t forget the “social” part of social media.)

• When I have a book launch, I create a calendar (3 months of either side of the big day). I record guest blogs, blog tours, interviews, and events, so I don’t forget to share and comment on them. It also helps me keep up with deadlines and what I owe for interviews. A calendar also helps you to not overload certain days with posts.

• Vary the types of posts that you do for book events. I usually do a “save the date’” post to announce whatever it is. Then I post a graphic or share one from another site later as a reminder. The morning of the event, I’ll do a “I can’t wait for XX” post and tag people I know who are going. Then during/after the event, I post pictures and tag people.

• All of the sites are powered by their unique algorithms that change frequently. If you notice that your interactions change radically, you may want to look at your analytics and vary your posts.

Twitter

• I use Twitter to drive traffic to my blog (on my website). Each day, I schedule one post for the current blog post and then I schedule a retro one. I make sure that half of these posts are scheduled for the after-midnight crowd. I picked up followers in different time zones when I started this.

• Each week, I schedule two tweets about my books at times when my readers are most active on Twitter.

• I also schedule 3-5 funny tweets a week.

• Then when I’m skimming my Twitter feed, I comment and retweet interesting tweets.

Facebook

• Facebook has a new Creator Suite for organizing and managing your posts. I found that when I scheduled a set, I didn’t get the traffic that I normally did, so I went back to creating the posts each day.

• In a given week, I post about funny things going on and any adventures I’ve had. I try to do at least one post a day during times that my followers are active on FB.

• I post 2-3 book posts a month unless I have an announcement for a launch, sale, or event.

LinkedIn

• I primarily use this site to interact with professionals related to my day gig.

• I do post a link to my writing advice blog once a week. This introduced my blog to a new audience.

Instagram

• I’ve found that two, scheduled IG posts a day (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) get more attention than 3-5 a day (that pesky algorithm thing).

• Since IG only offers you one clickable link, I made my website link go to the blog’s home page to see the latest post.

• I schedule 14 funny posts a week ( one each morning and afternoon).

• I’ll schedule 2-3 book posts a week (usually in the evening on weekends) when my readers are active.

• If I happen to take a picture of something interesting that I’m doing or my adorable dogs, I’ll post these ad hoc.

These ideas have worked for me. If I notice that something changes, I’ll do some research and adjust. Try what works for you and change it up if it doesn’t increase your interactions. It helps me to schedule the majority of my posts, so that I can use my social media time to interact and network instead of creating and planning content.