Genuine Social Media Presence: What Does That Look Like?
Congratulations! You have finished setting up all of your social media accounts and your website is ready to go. Now what?
The obvious answer is to post content, but what kind of content? Well that varies on what type of image and brand you are cultivating. You are maintaining professional accounts, and so that must carry over to an extent. But don’t feel forced to only post updates and videos about your work in progress.
You are an author. What other types of content can you share that is relevant to your profession?
Consider sharing photos of your writing setup, your reading nook, your to-be-read pile. These are all relevant aspects to your life as an author. Your world revolves around words, pages, and hardcovers. If you limit yourself to just sharing snippets of your work, past, present, and future, you are severely limiting the impact you can have on social media.
You are a real person with real interests. Your audience is interested in that! Be genuine in what you share. Don’t just share a quote from a famous author because you’ve seen five other accounts do that. Share a quote from your favorite author. Share a photo of your favorite cover art. Share a recipe for your favorite comfort food after a long day of writing.
Genuine content will make the difference between temporary likes and follows, and long term audience engagement. Don’t be superficial in what you share just because you need to post something. Share content that is personal to you, but still professional.
If you are having a hard time coming up with ideas, pay attention to the accounts of other successful authors. Are they sharing photos of their pets, their daily walk, their inspirations? Are they sharing selfies, snippets of their day? See what they are posting, and how well their audience responds to it.
Genuine content is the make or break for a successful presence in the digital age and goes a long way to cultivate relationships with your current and future audience. Most importantly, these are YOUR accounts. Your social media presence is a way to show your audience who you are, what you do, and how you do it.
