Social media has become so popular that if Facebook were a country it would be the third-largest country in the world and 100,000 tweets were sent every minute of every day in 2012, according to a shocking infographic.
If you’re an author, you really can’t afford to miss out on harnessing the incredible power behind those numbers. Readers are sharing content online in record numbers and the best way to build a dedicated audience is to connect with them on the sites they’re already using.
To learn how to do successfully do this, learn from authors who are already experts at the social media game. Guy Kawasaki and Matthew Dicks are two authors I often point to as great writers to learn from on social media.
Both authors maintain a very active Facebook and Twitter presence. Check out Kawasaki’s Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as Dicks’ Facebook and Twitter pages to see what I mean.
One thing Dicks does successfully, and what first put him on my radar, is he actively engages his fans. I simply tweeted about reading his book, I didn’t even tag him in the tweet, and he still responded to me. Plus, his response went beyond the generic “thank you for reading” and actually delved into my opinions on his book. That kind of engagement really stuck with me and turned me into an avid fan of his work.
Kawasaki takes a bit of a different approach. His Facebook page is filled with links to interesting news events, along with insightful commentary that lends itself to debate among followers. Plus, he includes pictures of his daily life, which makes readers feel a valuable connection to him and his work.
These are just a few examples, and every author needs to create a social media identity that works best for his or her writing and his or her followers.
Just keep in mind, the most successful authors not only write compelling stories, but keep their fans actively engaged on social media.