If you are a writer who reads a lot of articles regarding effective social media practices, the most common piece of advice usually given is to interact with your followers.
That is because your connections are the heart and soul of your online profiles. Without any followers who are willing to spread your name, you cannot effectively promote your books. Check out this post to find out the reasons why online interaction is the key to becoming successful in the world of social media.
1. Social media is tailor-made for engaging with others. The main purpose of any social media network is to build strong connections with other people online. Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other websites all have special tools that make it easier for authors to find fellow wordsmiths and potential followers. These include lists, groups, and hashtags (#).
Since it is already tailor-made for interaction, it is highly recommended that you utilize these tools to their full potential.
2. Helps you become more visible online. A snippet of interesting information or a very creative tweet can spark an online buzz. But you can generate more traffic to your online profile if you interact with your followers.
If you reply to a photo or post that you share online the conversation thread will become longer, thus making it more visible to other people. Oftentimes, people will find your comment funnier than the post, and they might even share the actual comment with their friends.
3. Helps you survive the competition. The competition for attention in the online world is tough. With numerous authors trying to increase their popularity in social media, it is really hard to stay afloat and survive. That is why you need to be very active online.
Reaching out to your followers and fellow authors is a great way to stay ahead of the competition. If other people see how friendly and approachable you are, they will be more interested in following your online account.
3. Keeps your followers loyal. Keep in mind that readers and followers are fickle creatures. If they notice that the author they are following is not that active, they will find other authors to follow. Just a simple click of the unfriend or unfollow button and you will be forgotten by your readers.
To prevent that from happening, you should find creative ways to communicate with them. Contests are effective ways to entice them to your page. Sharing snippets of your upcoming book will catch their attention. It also helps if you sincerely reply to their inquiries and send them thank you notes every once in a while. Create a schedule for replying to their messages and questions.
To wrap things up
There are numerous other methods to stand out in the world of social media. However, it is important that you first improve your interaction with your followers. Without an active legion of online followers, it will be hard to make your presence felt online. Keep posting relevant information that will interest them.
