Marketing a book is a multifaceted process that encompasses everything from traditional media pitching and brand partnerships to Facebook ads and speaking engagements. In our new “Smart Marketing” series, the BenBella Marketing Department will share insights into hot topics in marketing and publicity and practical strategies authors can put into practice.
In a previous Smart Marketing post, we tackled the question of whether as an author, you should be on social media. Today, Senior Marketing Manager and social media guru Heather Butterfield explores where to go once you’ve decided that you do, in fact, need a social media presence.
You’ve created your Facebook page, Pinterest, or Instagram account. You’ve started posting on a regular basis. You connected with your friends and a few followers have started trickling in. And then you stare at your computer and wonder: Where do you go from here? How do you best manage your accounts? How do you create cool graphics and videos to share? What hashtags do you use? How do you re-post Instagram content? (Seriously, how are people doing that?) How do you get more followers? And on top of all of this, how do you stay on top of news about Facebook’s latest newsfeed algorithm change, best practices for juggling multiple accounts, or the new app du jour?
It’s a wide, crazy, constantly-changing landscape, and though we consider ourselves social media experts here at BenBella, we dedicate regular time to learning more by reading industry newsletters and blogs, signing up for the occasional webinar, or just trying out new apps. We’re firm believers in growing by experimenting and having fun.
To help you get started on your social media education, we’ve compiled our favorite resources and services—along with some that we’ve bookmarked to experiment with in the future (so, full disclosure, we haven’t personally tried everything here). There’s a lot out there and it’s easy to get overwhelmed, so remember to take it one step at a time. Read one article a day, listen to one podcast a week, or do whatever you have time for. Learning is a process, and if you start slow and stay consistent, you’ll have a ton of knowledge under your belt in no time.
RESOURCES
Blogs and Newsletters:
- Social Media Lab
- The Daily Carnage
- Aggregate
- Hubspot Marketing Blog
- Buffer Social
- Instagram’s Business Blog
- AdEspresso by Hootsuite
- BuzzSumo Blog
- Elle & Company
- Jane Friedman
- Fauzia Burke
- The Moz Blog
Podcasts:
- The Agents of Change: SEO, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing for Small Business
- Social Media Marketing Podcast
- The Science of Social Media
SERVICES
Social Media Monitoring/Listening, Scheduling, and Analytics:
Just for Instagram:
- Kicksta —Helps you grow your followers organically with automatic targeting marketing
- Grum—A tool for publishing and scheduling posts from your computer
- Iconosquare—Analytics and management
- Boomerang—Fun video creation app
- Layout—An app that allows you to combine multiple photos into a single grid image
- Repost—App for regramming content from other users
- VSCO—Popular photography and photo editing app
Other Fun Tools:
- Canva—Quickly and easily create attractive graphics, no design experience required
- Keyhole—Track hashtags in real time
- Hashtagify—Check on a hashtag’s popularly or find similar tags
- Grammarly—Make sure your posts are articulate and mistake-free
If you have any questions about the material covered here, recommendations for resources or services you love, or requests for future blog posts, leave us a comment below!