Clear the Fog: Enhancing Visibility
Sometimes scrolling through social media you will come across an account that has just… SO many followers. Then you look at your own profile and wonder how can that account have so many and you have so few in comparison. But please keep in mind a few things: the age of that account, the number of bot (fake) accounts, and the number of real accounts.
Buying followers may be tempting and affordable, but that’s not going to provide genuine engagement from people who will buy your books or support you on your author journey. Not to mention, purchased followers can lead to account suspension or deletion and skewed metrics.
If you want to spend money, your best bet to increase authentic interactions is to go with marketing options and advertisements. However, there are actions you can take to help increase your visibility without spending money, just time.
The number one most impactful tactic you can employ: spend time on social media. The algorithm sees your engagement and how you interact with other accounts. Increasing the amount and types of things you share can also push you to the top of search pages, recommendations, and suggested followers.
The second most important strategy for you, author, is to make sure your website has functioning links and is easy to navigate. Be sure to check your SEOs and keywords. You want to appear on the first page of a search, not the third.
The third best method is patience (unfortunately). None of this will happen overnight. Even if you have a post go viral, your engagement will be temporarily inflated. And what we want is long term, committed followers who care about your work and want to buy your book(s) and become avid supporters.
Like driving through heavy fog, navigating the trickiness of self-promotion takes skill and effort. Sometimes you have to switch through different lights in order to see the best. Oftentimes, your fog lights are less effective than your regular lights, and maybe your most followed account won’t give you the type of engagement you are seeking. Don’t discount sharing different types of media (video, text, photos) on different platforms just to see what happens. You are on a journey that is unique to you, make it work to your advantage.
