Social media can seem easy and effortless when you’re looking at those big accounts with thousands of followers. But then when you try, it’s overwhelming and it doesn’t seem as effective. Why is that?
Those big accounts have a strategy (and often a team of experts helping plan, execute, and run the account). Don’t get discouraged when your posts are receiving minimal interaction, you just need to figure out your strategy.
First things first: what is your brand? Building and maintaining your brand is very important for social media. What is your genre/niche? Who are your readers? Who do you want your readers to be? Your brand is a mixture of who you are, author, and what your writing is all about. Narrow it down and expand on those specifics of what makes you, you. Figure that out, and you are one step closer to building a memorable brand.
Are all your accounts professional? Do you have a clear and concise bio and recent headshot? Is your website linked correctly? Nothing is a bigger turnoff than a disorganized account. Clean up your social profiles and make them presentable.
Share quality content consistently. This is the hardest part. You must find the balance of quality content that is both interesting and appealing, that works with your brand and your profiles, and you have to regularly post. This will take the most time to figure out, but trial and error is your friend. Utilize metrics and figure out which posts are more successful than others, and then keep sharing content that is well received.
Your expanded social media strategy should be a mixture of maintaining your profiles, maximizing return on your posts, and generating new followers. None of this will happen overnight. It is all a great experiment that will be frustrating and extremely rewarding all at once. Take the time to iron out your goals, plans, and get to work.