If you are a writer or an author you should know the importance of using social media.
There are so many social media for writers authors and that newbies don’t understand which one to use in long run.
So in this post, I will show you which are the best social media just for writers and authors.
I will show you which social media platform I am using and how it helping me build my personal brand.
These are self-applied techniques which I am going to show you.
But if these helped me as Author and Blogger, it will definitely help you too.
Table of Contents
List of Social Media for Writers
Facebook for Writers and Authors
Facebook is no doubt the largest social networking site available out there.
And each and every brand and a personal figure is using it no matter what industry they are in.
Even your favorite authors and writers have a dedicated Facebook page and personal closed group.
In Facebook you could have three options:
- Personal Facebook Profile (Which you might be having right now).
- A dedicated Facebook Page for a specific purpose.
- A Facebook Group.
How you could use Facebook as a Writer or Author?
Probably this the question you might be having right now that how is this social media for writers…
And how you could use it for your own good.
So here’s the answer.
Facebook Profile
Only a few people had success with promoting their own business with Facebook profile.
So what I suggest is that don’t mix your personal life with your business.
Post only some insights but don’t use it for business purpose.
And now with increasing demand in Facebook ads, you may have to switch it to a Facebook page for promotion and marketing purpose.
Facebook Page
As a writer or Author having a dedicated Facebook page for Author is the best practice.
You can create a separate Facebook Page, especially for your personal branding.
In that post everything related to your Business, writing, new books, your insights, working, etc.
Posting something personal is also helpful as it makes you more human.
And now if you get more engagement on your Facebook page you will reach more audience. Else your reach will be limited.
A Facebook page is also necessary to run ads.
So as a writer you should definitely be using Facebook page.
Facebook page can be the best social media for writers.
Facebook Group
Creating a Facebook Group is the best step for you if you are just starting out.
Creating a group of like-minded people will help you grow exponentially.
It allows you to create interaction with your group members, help each other out. This way your member are more likely to buy your books or read your blog.
However it takes time to build such a good engaging group, so you have to maintain your group and you should keep it away from spam.
In other words, you have to monitor it effectively.
You have to respond to every member and try to provide a solution. In return, you can ask them to add more members.
PS: In the Facebook group you will get more sales, more leads, and more clients. Whereas Facebook page will help you create branding, social media presence, ability to run ads. So managing both things can be time-consuming as you have to do the writing also.
Automate your Facebook Page with tools like Buffer, Hootsuite etc. And start making human interaction on your Facebook group.
PSS: When you are just starting out, search for groups with a similar niche as your (Writing communities, authors community, bloggers, book reviewers, etc) and join them.
Later engage with the members of that group. Respond to any question that you already knows the answer.
Add active members on your friends’ list so that you can later add them to your group.
This can help you build credibility on other’s group as well as people will start to know you more.
Apart from that, you will also grow your Facebook groups by adding these members slowly.
GoodReads for Writers and Authors
GoodReads is the best social media for writers and authors to hang out.
It is the social network every writer should use because GoodReads has more than 72+ Million members and all are whether reader, writer, and author.
This is the community where you should spend most of the time.
You will not get this much of targeted audience anywhere else.
Most of the people join as readers on GoodReads and not as writer and authors.
Using this social media you can promote your own work, make new connections, provide insights on what you read, can review other’s book, link your blog posts (via RSS) on GoodReads, etc.
And if you vouch for other writers and share their book or add their book in your bookshelves then they might do the same for you.
Maybe some great author shares your work. If that happens then you can sell your book very well.
Always believe in creating a connection than selling your product and services.
Twitter for Writers
Twitter is the place where professional authors hang out.
And when it comes to Twitter as social media for writers, they use 80/20 rule.
This means they use 80% time tweeting, liking, and building connection with others and 20% time promoting themselves.
As a writer, you should be at first create new connections, follow similar accounts, and retweets them.
Later you should be tweeting your own product and services, your blog post, etc.
You will then find many great readers who might be interested in your products also.
There are many great authors using Twitter effectively such as JK Rowling, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, and many more.
You should follow them to understand how they market themselves using Twitter as their main social media network.
PS: Everybody is saying don’t spam on Twitter. But if you want a good result you should be tweeting between 4-6 times per day as each tweet has a very short lifespan.
PSS: Don’t tweet the same content and in the same format. Try to change it a little bit every time.
Use social media automation tools like Hootsuite to schedule your tweets in advance so you can utilize your time in your writing.
How to get noticed on Twitter as a Writer or Author
It is not just limited to being on the platform but you have to be get noticed by other people.
So here are some of the tips that you can use to get noticed.
1. Get related Twitter Username
It is not just limited for this single social media profile but for all social networking sites.
Having a nice and related username can help you get recognized easily and people can remember you easily.
Even having some related titles like author, writer, before your name can help people recognize your nature of work and business.
2. Complete your Profile
Don’t be in a hurry to fill your social media bio.
Fill everything correctly and in short tell everyone about yourself.
Try to use keywords related to your field like Writer, Freelancer, Author, Blogger, Helping authors and Writers, etc.
3. Link to your Website
Don’t forget to insert your website or blog URL in your social media profile.
And every writer and Author should own a blog or website.
This way you can showcase your work to the interested people.
Though having a website link in bio does not bring much traffic, but it will definitely boost your credibility.
And the traffic you will generate will be targeted one as only interested people will visit your site through your bio’s link.
4. Follow Influencer in your Niche
There will be many famous people in your niche doing the same thing as you do.
So try to follow them.
You could follow them and implement the same strategies as they were using for growing their Twitter profile.
You can also retweet their tweets and build a relationship with them.
This way you can build more relationship with their existing audience.
P.S: Go to their followers and start following their followers. This way you will be able to gain followers more quickly and those people will be your target audience.
5. Maintain Followers to Following Ratio
Keep a watch on your Followers to the Following ratio.
Don’t follow a lot of people than people following you back.
When you have substantially more followers than you do people you follow, it tells people you’re interesting and have some credibility.
6. Use Hashtags
Using Hashtags can help you boost your tweets organically.
So try to tweet with hashtags as much as possible.
But don’t overdo it.
Use 2-3 Hashtags per tweets. And use related hashtags only.
And tweeting with trending Hashtags may give you more reach than with general hashtags.
Instagram for Writers
Writers and authors are not fully utilizing the power of Instagram.
Instagram is very powerful social media for writers and you should start using it in 2019.
As of now, social media is being focused on more visual content.
So Instagram is more useful than just putting your website URL in your bio,
Create quotes from your book, inspire others by the work you do.
Posting about your personal life, a picture of your book under the tree is something your followers will love to see.
Instagram is a perfect social media platform for organizing giveaways and promotion.
Just search for your favorite authors on Instagram and you will know what kind of content they post.
Follow a similar approach.
You will succeed in Instagram.
How to use Instagram as a Writer and Author
Many writers and authors are not using Instagram effectively.
So here’s is what you can do and what you can post on Instagram.
But before that have these fundamental clears, which are:
- Have a proper Bio, Website link, and great profile picture.
- Engage with others.
- Post on regular basis.
- Use Hashtags properly.
So as a Writer and Author what you should post on Instagram?
1. Your Personal Life
Yes, you read it right.
Posting photos of your working space, photos of books you are reading, or maybe glace of something you were writing that day.
2. Upcoming Book release, trailer, and teaser
Share your book release videos, photos, book cover, etc.
Post quotes and related kinds of stuff from your new book before publishing your book.
This way your audience will get the glance of your upcoming book and you will also get amazing engagement.
You can use tools like Canva and Crello to create amazing post and videos, especially for Instagram.
These are the tools I am using for creating such images.
You can visit my Instagram profile (@ realshadabalam) to know more.
3. Post Motivational Quotes
Whatever niche you are in there will be motivational quotes for everyone.
You can post them to your Instagram account.
And people always like these quotes. And it is the best way to create more engagements.
Apart from that, you can post quotes related to the struggles and challenges related to Authors and Writers.
4. Post Stories
Now stories on Instagram works well and it can also boost your engagement rate.
So post stories more often.
And it is basically 3-4 stories per day.
Create custom stories with text and emoji to make it more natural rather than using any tools.
5. Engage
If any people comment on your post or ask any question related to your niche, try to answer them as soon as possible.
Even comment on other people’s post and build your fan base.
This is the most important factor everyone should focus on.
Pinterest for Writers and Authors
Pinterest is less of social media and more of an image search engine like Google.
This social media is most suitable if you want to drive the majority of traffic to your website without spending a single penny.
And the traffic comes are mostly targeted.
You can create a Pinterest image for your post, products, or anything.
It will drive the traffic to the mentioned page.
And the most important is that 80% of people buy any products from Pinterest.
It is one of the best sources to drive people to your site or products page in the long run.
A Pinterest image has a shelf life of more than 6 months.
And it is one of the underutilized social media for writers.
How to Use Pinterest for Author and Writers
Pinterest is the goldmine for authors and writes if used effectively.
1. Profile and Bio
Have your close up pic as your profile picture on Pinterest.
And make sure to have a clear picture.
The next thing you should be doing is to write your name and description.
Use the keyword in your profile name something like “Shadab Alam | Author and Writer | Helping Authors and Writers Make Living Writing.” Etc…
And after that complete your description also.
Even here fill your description with keywords. But don’t just stuff keywords on your description.
Showcase your work on your Pinterest description.
You can also add a call to action for your ebook or freebies link in the description area.
2. Use Rich Pins
Make sure to verify your site with a Pinterest account to use rich pins.
3. Join Pinterest Boards
You don’t need to have a massive follower to grow your traffic.
Joining Pinterest group boards will help you to reach more audience and will increase your reach exponentially.
There are lots of Pinterest group boards for Authors, writers, freelancer, and for every niche, you can think of.
4. Use Tailwind & Tailwind Tribes
Tailwind is an online platform specially designed to automate your Pinterest profile.
Because to grow on Pinterest you need to be actively posting on the Pinterest minimum of 20-30 pins per day.
And this is not possible to do manually.
So using Tailwind can automate your work.
And Tailwind Tribes is one of the amazing features to increase your reach.
Basically, you join tribes according to your niche and pin other member’s image.
And they do the same for you.
This way your post can get more shares and ultimately more visitor to your blog or store.
Using YouTube for Writers
Video content is growing rapidly and everyone is leveraging YouTube for creating brand awareness, trust, and sell their product and services.
And there are many YouTube channels for authors and writers.
What you can do is to follow them and see what type of content they post.
Then try to post similar type of content with more information or with some unique value what your competitor is lacking.
Try to teach your audience more.
And when you will starts building trust then you can sell your own product and services easily without pushing your audience to buy.
Which Social Media for Writers Should You Choose?
I have mentioned all the social media platform suitable for any writers and authors out there.
But these don’t mean that you should be using all at the same time.
Though you should create all the social media platform for your branding, just focus on one social media at a time.
Master one first. Then you can grow any other social platform easily.
Try to use the one more effectively and schedule all the other social media accounts.
Through this way, you will engage more personally with your community.
So one social media account at a time.
Free and Paid Social Media for Writers
There is two kind of traffic you can expect on these social networking sites.
So it’s better to understand both organic vs paid reach.
Back in the days when these social platforms were launched you can get followers and likes really easy. But now you have to run ads and pay for it after some time if you want to grow continuously.
Because this is the age of advertisement.
For example, Facebook decreased the reach and posts are rarely seen organically performing well.
So do Instagram.
However, this doesn’t mean that you will not perform well organically.
But that takes time and continuous effort.
And the best way to grow fast is to use paid ads at some point in time.
So through this way, you can spend more time in your writing rather than worrying about growing social media accounts.
Final Word on Social Media for Writers
Each platform has some pros and cons.
But you should be using the one social media platform where you can excel.
“Be the master of one than the Jack of All.”
Don’t spread thin on social media. Instead, dig deeper into one.
My Personal Recommendation
If you ask me personally which social media platform is best for writers and authors I would recommend you Pinterest and YouTube.
This is because these two platform brings a desired amount of traffic as well as these are growing exponentially.
Other social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram are not giving that much return for the work done.
These platform takes time to grow and produces very less result.
Whereas platform like Pinterest and YouTube can produce results more quickly and effectively.
So do let me know which social media for writers is best and which one you are using it now.
One Small Request:
If you enjoyed reading this article, kindly give it a share. Your share is extremely helpful to spread our message and help more readers like you.
Dear WritersXp,
Thank you so much for your socmed advice. I have had a torrid time of it as a new author; i wish i had seen this blog first! I shall keep a look out for you on any platform i join and recommend/like whenever possible: So please, email me anytime.
Sincerely, Lykos.
This is insightful!
Thank you