Social Media Archives

Creating Your Social Media Plan

Posted on February 26, 2024 by CMPR

This month we spent a lot of time going through different aspects of posting about your book and your brand on social media. Now that you know how to get started, make authentic connections, and discover topics, it is time for the most important part. We are going to talk about creating your social media plan.

Structure Your Social Media Plan

None of the things you have learned so far will matter without a clear strategy and mapped out calendar. For people who like to fly by the seat of their pants and hate linear structure, this is going to be annoying. You may need a plan more than most, because without one you will not keep it up.

The great news is that you can automate some of the tasks. However, you will need to sit down and make a calendar for each month in advance. Ideally, you have several months of planned content laid out so you can produce it, schedule it and forget about everything but engaging and having fun with your new followers. Here is how you put a plan together.

Your Social Media Outline

1. Find a monthly calendar template that you think will serve you best. Hubspot has one, and if you click on the link you will go to a page with a free download. We use a customized version of it that has worked well.

2. Think about the forms of your content. For example, we like to post a blog every week and our social posts include a feed post on Instagram followed by stories throughout the week based on the blog. We try to create themed months and weeks, which makes it easier to organize content. It also provides different formats for people who like to consume content in different ways.

3. Go back to your topics and themes. If one of your topics is world building because you write fantasy, then think about creating content about your process, articles you find online, different resources you use, people whose work you admire, etc.

4. Now it’s time to get specfic. Let’s plan a week of content on Instagram that includes a blog post about how you got interested in world building. You can choose to promote that blog on your website via a feed post on Monday, followed by two stories on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Mark those in your calendar.

You could also add a reel with a visual like a map and a caption that includes a mistake to avoid as you get started with your world. Maybe you post your reel on Wednesday. Mark that in your calendar. Now you have a full week planned for that topic.

Getting Content Ideas Using AI

Many of us have ambivalent feelings about AI. As writers and creators we worry that AI will take over our specializations and make us obselete. Although some of this may be true or false, in the meantime we all need to be familiar with how generative AI works. So, I am recommending that you try ChatGPT, prompting it with your world building idea to see what article headlines it generates.

You could also go to Google. Type in “world building” and see what drops down from the search bar. Scroll to see what topics are listed further down the search results pages where it says “People also searched for”.

You Can’t Break Your Social Media

If you are relatively new to social media with a modest following or zero followers, you don’t need to worry too much about how your plan is executed. You can’t break your social media at this level. What is most important is that you jump in and try out a system. If you are stuck or want a bit of guidance, we do offer a free 30 minute social media overview. You can also search our blogs or look through our Instagram feed for other posts and tips.

Attention Newsletter Subscribers: In the February newsletter you will find a brief how to video for the ChatGPT process I mentioned above. To subscribe to our newsletter visit the home page

Content Pillars Lead Your Social Media Plan

Posted on February 12, 2024 by CMPR

What is a content pillar? That’s marketing speak for a theme. Content pillars lead your social media plan to build an audience. Once you feel comfortable posting on your social platform, the next step is to identify what you want to write about regularly. These “pillars” will support your platform and help you create many great things for your followers.

Authentic Content Pillars

Many people are stuck on what to talk about, so they randomly post stuff just to be “active”. Sadly, that won’t work if you are serious about using social media as a tool to build a following. You are fighting short attention spans, an overwhelming amount of users, and a mysterious algorithm. I know it can feel artificial to “create” based on marketing principles and conventions. However, many people strike a balance between what comes natrually, and what they need to communicate to grow.

The Content Pillar You Know Best

So here’s what I know from working with artists and writers for most of my life–you are not the best judges of what is interesting to the people who consume your books, music, films, etc. To authors writing is a purpose, a curse, a discipline, a dream, annoying, easy, difficult, frustrating, and whatever other terms you want to throw at it. To readers or aspiring writers, your world is a mystery, filled with things they can’t reach on their own. With this in mind, let’s play with some sample topics around the content pillar of WRITING:

Topic 1: A writing journal, what do you feel like when you write. Repeat for every day that you sit down at your computer.

Topic 2: Writing advice, tips you provide and those you find from other famous or non-famous writers that you research online.

Topic 3: For fantasy writers, world-building and character-building. Here you can talk about your process and those of your colleagues, or you can literally talk about the world and characters in your books. Bring them to life for your audience and talk about what you can’t find between the pages.

Your Goal When Creating Your Content

Your goal is to be able to start with your theme, then take your topics and create a combination of feed posts, stories, reels, or their equivalents on your platform of choice. For example if you choose to do a journal you could include views that inspire writing as your images. You could do a reel of something your house pets do when you sit down. My cat likes (demands) to jump on my lap, then she meows like crazy because I’m typing instead of paying attention to her. I would put your topic at the top of a page and then jot down all the things that go with it from a visual and an internal point of view.

Cat takes over my work station constantly. — Not mine, but you cat lovers totally get it.

Now, look what you’ve done. You have some topic ideas that are original to you, and. they can educate and engage your audience. Ideally it is a good idea to have a couple of pillars that you plan on your content calendar for the month. Think about who you are trying to reach and what will encourage them to pay attention to what you are saying. Here are some things we have done for clients over the years that have been successful:

For a writer of plausible thriller fiction, we created a tag line for a content pillar that tells readers about Things You Should Know But Don’t. Every week there are posts relating to something going on in the world that isn’t on the front page, but is important to know. We organize the posts by topic depending on what is being covered in the news.
A male author writing a female character has a platform dedicated to the character who covers her fascinating life, and how to navigate the world as a twenty-something woman. Her pillars are a regular “Diary” and “Ask Gina”, which is a parody of Dear Abby. When a new book comes out she talks about what’s happening in her life and teases out aspects to look forward to in the future.

The Simple Things

Once you establish the content pillars to lead your social media planning, you will feel more grounded. It will be easier to generate ideas for different kinds of posts. As you grow your following, you will learn about your audience and may get suggestions from them. Sometimes it is the simplist thing that can delight a community. Recently, an author I met said that she started posting sunrises, because she likes to write at that time. This took off for her, because, as she said, who doesn’t love sunrises?

For more information and to read more about content creation search “content marketing” on our blog page. You can also read a recent post Optimizing Your Link in Bio

Digital Pitching Tactics for Different Media

Posted on September 8, 2021 by CMPR

As a PR and marketing company one of our most important jobs is writing. Just because we are good writers does not mean we are going to write the next great American novel, because what we do requires a specific skill set. In fact, some people equate PR writing with journalism. We have to create the stories and be persuasive to convince media people to pay attention and write or broadcast what we want to get out there. Different platforms require different things so you would never send a lengthy email style pitch to a person on Instagram. Twitter needs to be even more brief. Pitches can not be over-the-top, nor should they be dry. Catch a person’s attention in the first sentence with eye-catching, pithy, and ultimately informative material. Like one of my favorite artists, Public Enemy, says, “Don’t Believe the Hype” –we can’t afford to alienate people by leaning too far in any one direction. So how do digital pitching tactics differ between emails vs. social media?

Is Your Pitch Too Long?

The most glaring difference in digital pitching tactics is the length that your pitches can be. In email, the short & sweet is applied mostly to the subject line. Once someone has deemed your email important enough to open, it’s likely they’ll read it. There’s a lot of room in the body of an email to write at length about whatever it is you’re trying to pitch. This doesn’t mean you should write a novel, but it does allow the opportunity to append things like press releases or longer summaries. If your initial pitch sells the product well, the reader will usually want some more information. Attachments are a great way to do this.

When you start getting into social media, though, length becomes the enemy. Many platforms have character limits for direct messages (DMs) and people don’t want to read walls of text. For book pitches, I usually try to keep the message to a personalized hello, a short summary of the book and any relevant information about the author. It’s always important to end with a call to action like an invitation to work together or an offer for more information. Being concise and clear about what you’re asking for is vital with strict length limits.

Does Structure Matter?

The structure of a DM pitch is a lot looser, especially once you get to chatting with someone! I would suggest keeping it formal at first and, of course, always remain courteous. But don’t be afraid to “like” someone’s responses or use emojis (sparingly). It’s commonplace on social media and can make you seem more personable. People always like knowing there’s someone real behind the product!

Emails tend to be a lot less casual, almost always beginning with a greeting and ending with a signature. It’s good practice to use more formal language throughout the conversation. This might change a little if you exchange emails with someone regularly, but usually with pitches it is a strictly professional relationship and using language to reflect that is a good idea.

Pacing is Important–Don’t Be a Dirge

Some of the informality of DMs comes from pacing. Often, you will see responses a lot faster on social media than you would expect with email. Because it’s less formal and easily accessible through phones, people usually get back to you quickly if they’re interested in your pitch. Make sure to do your best to reply in a timely manner as well.

As a tip, keep in mind that if you have a lot of people to pitch via DM you can’t always send out hundreds of messages all at once. Some websites have rate limits and might mark you as a spam account if you try to do too much in a short period of time! Try to limit your new messages to about 15 or 20 an hour.

Don’t Do It Unless You Know How

These are just some things to expect if you’re new to using DMs and social media to pitch to people. The only real way to get a feel for it is to go out and do it! And remember most of all you are trying to build relationships between you and the media. It’s a symbiotic association that should benefit both sides. Don’t risk the trust of a potential contact, know what proper digital pitching tactics are before you reach out.

If you’d like to read more publicity tips, check out some of our other blogs on the topic!

3 Ways To Use Reels To Promote Your Book

Posted on August 17, 2021August 17, 2021 by Liz Bachmann

Instagram Reels are one of the best ways to grow on the platform. However, they can be very overwhelming for those who are not familiar with creating video content. Today, I will share with you three Reels ideas you can use to promote your book/profile on Instagram.

Trends on #BookTok

Did you know that you can follow hashtags? If not, I suggest you do that now. And I would start with #BookTok. Bookstagrammers and authors use #BookTok to showcase content around books and writing.

Often there are fun and easy Reels trends on this hashtag that do not require you to show your face (if you don’t want to) and require minimal editing.

Check out one Kelsey Darragh did here.

Give a Brief Explanation

In 15-30 seconds, explain something interesting about you or your book.

Some examples include:

Why you wrote your book
Your writer’s journey
Any short explanation about a unique aspect of your book

General Reels Trends

Another great way to use reels to promote your book is to jump on general trends. Applying trends to your brand takes a little creativity, but it should be something fun and different.

Here are a couple of fun examples:

Take this trend for answering questions and apply them to your book or writers journey
“You can’t look good in every picture you take” trend but book covers

Other Tips for Using Reels to Promote Your Book

Think of Instagram Reels like a business card. The point is to spread the content far and wide, not overloading your viewer with too much information.

Do not introduce yourself. In the Reels format, you just do not have the time. This also might not hook your viewer. Instead, lead with educational or entertainment value and have an optimized profile to explain who you are to convert viewers to followers.

Include a call to action. A call to action is an essential part of any content you make that has a purpose (and if you don’t have a goal for the content, why are you making it?).

For Reels, an excellent call to action in the video itself is to follow you or to download some sort of freebie.

More Resources for Growing on Instagram

Instagram Reels: A Beginner’s Guide

Instagram Insights: A Beginner’s Guide

Expanding Your Organic Reach on Instagram: Video Content

3 Tips for Growing Your Personal Brand on Instagram

High Quality Reels: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted on July 27, 2021July 26, 2021 by Liz Bachmann

The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, recently announced that Instagram is no longer just a photo-sharing platform. This announcement created some confusion, but is no cause for alarm. Since the release of Reels, Instagram has been leaning further towards short form video. Today, I’m going to talk about how to make a high quality Reel.

What is a Reel?

A Reel is a short-form video on Instagram that is under one minute. They are designed to entertain and have a strong organic reach.

Three Steps to Make High Quality Reels

Hook your Audience in the First Three Seconds

Attention spans on social media are extremely low. In order for your Reel (or any social media content) to be successful, you have to stop the scroll. This means catching their attention quickly by quickly stating the problem you are going to solve for the watcher.

Provide Value in Your Video

Although “value” has become a bit of a buzzword, this just means that you are not creating fluff. Share content that entertains, informs, or inspires so your audience can see the value you have to offer.

Your hook gets people to your video, but the value provided is what makes them stay and consume more of your content.

Use a Call to Action in Your Reels

People will not engage with your content in the way you want them to unless you tell them how to do so. If you want people to comment, tell them! All of your Reels should have a CTA to maximize your engagement.

Do I Have to Make Video Content?

You do not have to make video content, but you should. Video content has consistently been shown to be more engaging and effective than other types of content on social media. People enjoy consuming short-form video content which is why TikTok has been such a success.

Pro-tips for High Quality Reels Content

Create a series around something you are passionate about and knowledgeable in. You do not have to dance or point to make a Reel that performs well, you just need to show up consistently with valuable content.

If you have any questions about how you can use Reels in your social media strategy, please contact us.