There is more advice circulating about social media than we can ever hope to handle. When it comes to marketing books, many authors spend a great deal of time, money and effort to build a social media following but projected sales still fall short. So what could be missing? The following are the top 10 myths surrounding social media marketing for authors:

Social media is a great marketing tool

Social media was designed to build personal relationships and share common passions and is not about getting people to buy your product through carefully constructed status updates posted on a regular basis.

Social media is about creating new customers

The fact is, most of the people you interact with in social media are your current customers. On the average, about 84% of followers of a brand on its Facebook page are either current or past customers of that brand. Social media is primarily a customer retention and loyalty platform, not a new customer acquisition medium.

You should downplay negative feedback

Social media is about making sure your brand is always there to help and listen. You are really under a microscope with social media, so answer all queries and comments ASAP, whether it’s positive or negative.

A big following will turn into book sales

Of the top 10 myths surrounding social media marketing for authors, this is simply the biggest lie. But there are people who repeatedly preach this like a mantra and that makes it doubly gross. There is no concrete evidence of a correlation between a great jump in book sales and an increased number of followers, even for authors who already have a huge social media fan base.

An increase in social media following will also increase your fame

More accurately, it’s the other way around. Looking at the top 100 Twitter accounts based on numbers of followers shows that these people are already famous outside of social media. You have to gain fame somewhere else, like being an acclaimed book author, then you’ll gain social media following.

Great content sells itself

The truth is great literary masterpieces languish about in the web, unseen and unshared. To complicate things, a lot of garbage makes it to the bestsellers list. You see, social media is all about popularity. You have to build relationships and do a lot of favors for people online before your work ever gets noticed.

Marketing in social media is free

Time is money. So if you’re willing to spend hundreds of man-hours chatting online just to get your book noticed, it’s your call. Or you can hire a consultant who already has the connections, knows the shortcuts and has already put in the hours needed for building networks.

Social media is the best place to generate word-of-mouth marketing

No, it’s not. A US research shows that 90% of WOM is still generated via personal conversations. If you’re keen on WOM marketing, explore more intimate settings such as teaming up with local bookstores, reading groups and book expos.

It bring results overnight

In reality, social media marketing takes months and even years of continuous, persistent effort before you gain some measure of success. Probably your first 50 Twitter followers are either your friends or relatives who already have complementary copies of your book. And it might take months before cracking the 1000 Twitter follower barrier.

Social media marketing is the hottest trend

It used to be 5 to 7 years ago, when audiences were far less jaded. But now it’s difficult to stand out against the backdrop of excessive social media hype. You have to offer the best content, with a commanding online presence to get your voice heard among the deafening social media noise.