I received more excellent advice than I could use in my assigned article, but there’s no need for it to go to waste, right?

Today’s article shares the “overflow” social media tips. After all, authors who want to sell books are small business owners, too. The advice below will help you use your social media marketing time more efficiently and effectively.

9 social media tips you can use

Here’s advice from the pros in no special order.

Don’t limit the images you use to stock photos.

Use original photos at least some of the time. “Your followers want to see behind the scenes. They want to see the face of the brand,” says Melanie Herschorn of VIP Business Connection.

Study your competitors.

This will help you better understand what works well with your audience – and what doesn’t.

“If your competitors are not fully leveraging specific social platforms, then you can double your efforts on those networks. The goal of the analysis is to gather insights and adapt and improve upon your competitors’ strategies to create your own,” says Hardeep Johar of Stone & Tiles Shoppe.

If you use Instagram, develop an “aesthetic” for your posts.

“It is very helpful when it comes to ‘the look’ of how your account appears,” says Tijania Goodwin of Events 2 the Tee. As an example, she suggests using the same filter on all images.

If you create “quote cards” – images with quotes – that might mean using your website or book cover colors.

When sharing content on multiple platforms, change the content to fit the platform.

For example, if you’re announcing that your book is on sale for a limited time, what you share on Facebook shouldn’t be exactly the same as what you post on Twitter.

“Don’t use cross-posting functionality. It seems like a great idea to connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts so you post once and it goes both places, but don’t. You need to create content that will resonate with each of the platforms’ audiences, and seeing those fb.me links on Twitter can come off as unprofessional and sloppy,” says Patrick Gillooly at Constant Contact (that’s my affiliate link because I use and recommend this email marketing service).

Expect to advertise.

If you’ve got a Facebook business page, you already know that few of your followers see your posts organically.

“Thanks to Facebook’s prioritization of friend-to-friend content, brands have to work way harder to experience the same kind of reach and engagement they used to receive. In order to reach your audience, it is likely you will have to devote a media budget to promoting your social efforts,” says James Clark of Room 214, Inc.

Use tools.

Norhanie Pangulima of Gigworker recommends these tools:

• BuzzSumo for content research and analytics
• Google Keyword Planner for keyword research and analysis
• Hootsuite for social media posting, responding, and scheduling

Nikola Baldikov at Brosix likes ViralContentBee, which helps get more attention for your posts.

Include a call to action.

A call to action – “CTA” in marketing speak – in your content tells your audience what you want them to do next.

Noting that this “simple piece” is often overlooked, Meg Prejzner of Hackett Brand Consulting says, “A CTA can really drive strong results.”

Post video.

Many of the experts I heard from advocate using video because people like it, but I have to admit, I’m not good at this. Seeing myself just yakking away simply does not appeal to me.

So . . . don’t use me as your role model for video. Listen to the pros like Rich Cardona of Rich Cardona Media, who says, “Social media audiences are looking for real people, doing real things, and who aren’t online simply to sell. People want to see how you interact, how you feel most days. Foster a community of fans in your industry by showing up on video often and consistently.”

Test and monitor your content.

What does your audience respond to? What doesn’t get likes, shares, or comments? Monitor reactions so you know what works and what doesn’t.

“Trying out different types of posts allows you to find out more about the people who are engaging with you. After you’ve learned what posts tend to generate the best results and what audiences are the most responsive, then a paid ad can help maximize the return on investment,” says Femke Lenstra of Vistaprint.

Take action!

(Do you see what I did there? That’s a not-so-subtle call to action!)

There’s a lot of wisdom here. When my article with more tips goes online, I’ll link to it here, too, so be sure to come back for that.

Right now, though, which of these concepts will you apply to your book marketing today? Which will wait for later?

Please tell us in a comment what social media tactics are working for you now. Your input might inspire another author! 

If you are, I’d like to use my Instagram business account to give your book some attention.

I’m about to make a few changes to that account that were inspired by Hilary Rushford’s “Free Instagram Class” on how small businesses can use that social network more effectively. I tuned in to last week’s webinar specifically because I wanted to start doing more with my Instagram business account and was looking for inspiration.

I got it.

What I’ve been doing on Instagram

I’ve used my business account (versus my personal account) to consistently post my weekly blog image and occasionally post an image that reminds people that I’m not a blogging robot.

It’s lame.

I know that.

Hilary’s webinar gave me ideas about what I could be doing differently. One of the best “ahas!” I got from the free training was that I should view the images on my profile as a collage of photos that needs to be visually balanced.

This screenshot below from my Instagram profile about a year and a half ago is a good example of what you don’t want to do — every post but one is an image with text. Most of those text images come from  blog posts.

It’s monotonous. There’s no visual variety.

What I’m going to do now

In order to figure out what types of images I can and should be sharing so I get both the requisite visual variety and relevant content for my Build Book Buzz brand, I needed to think about my purpose on that platform.

My goal here and on every social network I use is to help authors learn how to market their books.

I usually do that by providing links to helpful information online but that’s not possible with Instagram. Links are only clickable in profile descriptions and ads. So . . . I had to look at this network differently.

I had to shift away from providing how-to information to supporting authors in another way.

The solution is obvious by now, right?

I want to share images of your books!

By doing that with the full titles in the accompanying text (caption), I can bring more awareness to them.

Will it rock your world? Nope. Will it help you? Who knows? Will it hurt your book. No way!

Here’s what I’d like you to do

Will you let me to support your book with my Instagram account?

If yes, here’s what I’d like you to do — and please follow these instructions carefully:

1. Follow my business account. Find me on the Instagram app by searching for “Build Book Buzz” or “BuildBookBuzz.” This is required. I will follow you back. Followers mean book exposure.
2. Send me an email message with the subject line: Instagram. Click here to send the message. Attach a photo of your book cover. (Link not working for you? Email address is on about/contact page.) It can be just the book cover, you and your book, whatever — just make sure that the book is the main attraction. In the message, provide the full book title and your Instagram profile name so I can find and tag you easily.
3. Follow the instructions in steps 1 and 2 carefully. I’ve set up an email rule so that all messages with an “Instagram” subject line go into a specific folder. If you don’t send what’s requested and I have to contact you, we will both be disappointed in resulting delays.
4. Watch my Instagram feed for your book. Consider sharing it with your connections, too, so you have what marketers call “social proof” that people are talking about your book.

Note that if you don’t use Instagram, I won’t be able to share your book cover and title.

Thank you for helping me start using my account in a way that helps you. I appreciate it.

How do you use Instagram for book promotion? Tell us in a comment.