Are you a writer who has so far refrained from using social media? Or perhaps you’re a writer who uses social media for personal use? Maybe you’re now in a position where you’re actually thinking about using social media for your writing work? If so, there are a number of benefits of social media for writers. Read on to find out exactly what these are:
1. Increase your visibility
As a writer, writing your books is only the first step. You now need to find people who will be interested enough in your books to buy them. By having accounts across major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and others, you increase the number of channels by which new people can find out about you and your work.
2. Help to develop your brand
Social media platforms these days come with various tools you can use to describe the type of writer you are, the genre(s) you write, and to share your experiences with your readers and potential new fans. One well known example is a Facebook page. Such tools can be used to create a personal space (or profile) for you and your work within the social media platform.
In effect, you can use such social media tools to enhance your brand, so that you stick in the minds of your readers, increase your credibility and motivate people to buy your books.
3. Help to connect with your fans and to find new ones
Social media works by people being social and interacting with each other, chatting, discussing and sharing experiences. As a writer, you can use social media platforms to develop connections and friendships with your readers and with new individuals who might be interested in your books and what you have to say.
4. Help to connect with other writers
One of the biggest benefits of social media is that it allows you to connect with other writers. A way you can do this is through joining niche groups (e.g. those for writers) across social media platforms. In these groups you can ask questions, request help, and generally make friends with other writers.
5. Promote your books and those of other writers
Through connecting with other writers, informal (and formal) networks based upon respect and reciprocity can be formed, where you actively help to promote the books and eBooks of each other through your respective social networks. For example, if a writer friend of yours releases a new title or writes a blog post, then you could post a link to your followers on Twitter.
When you release a new book or publish a new article, then your friend would do the same for you. By doing this, your friend gets exposure to your followers on Twitter who may share the link further with their own followers, or someone in your follower list may end up buying the new book of your friend. Exactly the same process is activated when your friend shares your link with his/her followers.
Image credit: Jason Howie on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hv1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of eBooks India. He is also a prolific eBook writer with over 25 titles to his name.[/author_info] [/author]