It is so easy in this day and age to write and publish a book. Self-publishing has become extremely popular so anyone can publish their own books. Getting people to see them, buy them and read them is a whole other story. How do you get your book in front of people and get them to buy? Having a social media strategy in place can help.
Here are some ways that you can promote your book on the social media platforms.

Before the book is even published you want to build up interest and hype. Go onto your social media sites and start sharing what the book is about. Post little attention grabbing snippets from the book to grab their interest. You should also do a countdown to when the book will be released. Peak their interest. Get them excited. If you are planning to have your book placed in your local book store, set up a date for a book signing and promote that too.

Next, gather together your family, friends and networking associates (to start) and have them help you spread the word. Set up a content calendar and give them ideas for posts and tweets that they can send out for you through their own channels. You can actually write exactly what you want them to post! Make it easy for them to be able to help you. Craft Facebook posts for them. Create tweets for them using the hashtags you feel are important. Give them great visual material to post, like the book cover.

Run a picture campaign. Engage the help of the people listed above as well as people who have recently purchased your book. Have them pose for a picture holding the book, then get them to post that picture on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or on whatever platform they are comfortable with. Assign a hashtag for them to use on every post to generate interest.

Another idea is to offer a special deal. Offer purchasers the chance to get a signed copy of the book. If they purchase a signed copy, they can get a second book to give as a gift. Have them take a picture giving the book as a gift to the person, and ask them to share it on their social media.

Now that you have your book out there to a bunch of people, make sure you ask them to write a glowing review for you on Amazon, or other websites your book is offered on.. When you get multiple good reviews on Amazon, you book could rise through the rankings to a more noticeable spot. The more reviews the better, which will generate more interest and get other readers interested.

Be sure to take advantage of video in the promotion of your book. When it is actually published and you have your newly printed book in your hot little hands, take to video. Use Facebook Live to showcase your book and how excited you are to have it published. Talk about what it took for you to write the book or what inspired you to write. Your enthusiasm will be contagious. Create a special offer just for the people who have watched your video or live feed as a call to action. Maybe a reduced purchase price or a buy one get one half off deal. Never produce a video without having a call to action at the end.

Now that you are an author, it is so important to let the world know about it. Don’t be shy. You wrote your book for a reason. Using social media to help promote your book is a fantastic way to reach your reading audience no matter where they are located. Who knows, maybe you will be promoting the movie next!