Category: Social Media

3 Social Media Metrics That Do Not Matter

Posted on by Liz Bachmann

Often we find ourselves judging people based on the number of followers an account has or the size of their email list. However, these things don’t really matter. They are called “vanity metrics” because they do not help you make better business and marketing decisions.

What are Vanity Metrics?

Vanity metrics are metrics that look amazing on paper. They can tell a really positive story. But — and this is a big one — they don’t do anything to advance your business goals. 

#1 Followers

The number of followers you have on a given social media platform does not matter. Follower counts can be easily manipulated. Have you ever been approached by one of those Instagram accounts that offers x number of followers for a fee? 

Those followers will never engage with your page or convert to a paying customer or client. Therefore, they are useless. 

Instead, look at the number of people who have reached out to you because of your platforms. Or how many of your ideal clients you have managed to reach. These metrics are far more likely to give you direction with your content than solely looking at follower counts. 

#2 Likes

Likes are another vanity metric that cannot really tell you how your content is performing. Measuring likes with other forms of engagement like saves or comments may be helpful, but honestly, lots of likes just make us feel popular. They don’t do much to meet our business goals.

#3 Subscribers

Subscribers are like followers. They don’t matter unless they will convert and/or are your ideal client. Although it feels nice to have a lot of attention, it is far better to have a small number of incredibly loyal and active fans than a large number on a spreadsheet.

So what metrics should you track?

These depend on your business and social media goals. If you are trying to engage your current community, comments are awesome. If you are trying to spread awareness, retweets and shares are your best friends. 

Trying to create a one-size-fits-all plan for marketing or metrics won’t work because each company and each ideal client/customer is different.

If you are interested in developing your brand and social media strategy, send us an email at cmprteam@clairemckinneypr.com.

For more social media tips, check out these articles: 

Skyrocket Your Organic Reach on Instagram with Video

3 Quick Tips for Using Instagram for your Personal Brand

A Roadmap to Using Bookstagram for Online Book Publicity

Book Publicity on Social Media: Bookstagrammers

Posted on by Liz Bachmann

Using Instagram to publicize your book is one of the most cost-effective ways to share your book with avid readers. This is largely because of bookstagrammers. 

What is bookstagram?

A bookstagram is an instagram account dedicated to — you guessed it — books. The bookstagram community itself is massive. It encompasses authors and readers who love sharing their passion for books. 

Using Bookstagram to Generate Awareness Around Your Book

Bookstagram can be a great place to share your book, especially if you have a budget, but we will get to that in a second. One of the great things about bookstagram is that, unlike in newspapers or on the radio, people who follow bookstagrammers and engage with their content are a lot more likely to love books. If you connect with bookstagrammers that have a specific niche that is relevant to your book, then you are placing your book directly in front of an audience that is likely your ideal audience for sales. 

3 Tips for Working with Bookstagrammers

  1. Do not expect large bookstagrammers to share your book for free. Many of these bookstagrammers have huge, active audiences. Would you want to give something of value away for free? Probably not. Smaller bookstagrammers may be willing to trade for a free book — but make sure they have a public profile. 
  2. Research bookstagrammers before reaching out. If you write thrillers, it would be a waste of time to reach out to a bookstagrammer who only enjoys romance. 
  3. Engage with the bookstagrammers you would like to work with prior to reaching out to them. Although this is not absolutely required, it is good etiquette, especially if you are hoping to get something for free. 

If you are looking for other ways to publicize your book, check out the following posts: 

Our Six Step Guide to Earning Local Media Coverage

Book Awards for Indie Authors

Publicity 101: 5 Steps to Curating the Perfect Media List

 

Personal Branding on Social Media: 5 Twitter Features Explained

Posted on by Liz Bachmann

As of May 2020, Twitter had 340 million users. As a microblogging platform, Twitter is particularly beneficial for showcasing your personal brand through your interests, personality, and content. There are several Twitter features you can leverage to help build your personal brand. 

#1 Tweets

Tweets are short microblogs that can contain images, videos, text, and/or GIFs. They appear both in the sender’s timeline and homepage as well as the sender’s followers’ home pages. 

#2 Fleets — A new Twitter feature

Fleets are a place to share momentary thoughts that do not necessarily need to be added to your permanent Twitter presence. Think Instagram stories. Fleets appear at the top of your followers’ page. People can also view your Fleets by clicking on your profile picture. 

#3 Moments

Moments are longer form pieces of content that can be curated from your tweets and the tweets of others. Use Moments to tell a story about something that is happening in real time or curating tips.

#4 Lists

On Twitter, you can create lists to follow accounts that are similar or experts in a field you are interested in. These lists can be private or public. Private lists don’t notify people that you add to a list — which makes them great for social listening and competitor research. If you create a public Twitter list, other users can find and follow it. 

#5 Revue — a new Twitter feature

Twitter recently acquired Revue and have launched an initiative to allow Twitter users to create their own newsletters for free. One unique aspect of this new feature is that you can create paid newsletters — although there is a fee for those. 

If you determine your purpose and define your target audience, these features can help you develop a strong personal brand on Twitter. 

If you found this blog post helpful and would like to learn more about leveraging social media for personal branding, check out Personal Branding on Social Media: 3 Tips for Instagram. 

 

3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Social Media Efforts

Posted on by Keely Flanagan

Improve the effectiveness of your social media efforts

Well-established companies with bigger budgets are investing a significant amount of money in digital branding and social media.  With so many options, understanding your audience and using the best tools is very important to make you competitive at any level of business.  So, whether you are representing just yourself, a micro-business, or any size company, here are 3 simple ways to improve your social media efforts.

Tip #1: Where is Your Audience?

So much of the world is on social media. In 2019 they predicted that the U.S. population will spend more time on social media/mobile devices than on TV by the end of the year.  My analytics definitely show an uptick in mobile use, with a 50/50 ratio of people who read my content on mobile vs. other devices. Social media host a wealth of loyal niche communities. With clear messaging and focused branding, these communities can quickly become your repeat-consumers.

Find your audience

Tip #2: Should You Pay for Online Ads?

Like any promotional content on a popular medium, ads on social media can be pricey. Luckily, there is more to this strategy than paid advertisements. Channels like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat are one-stop shops. You can create your own original content in-house, free of charge. The average user is bombarded daily with big-budget marketing. In fact, 86% of people on social crave authentic content rather than expertly-crafted material from ad agencies. Stand out in the crowded market and create something to which your audience can authentically relate, without breaking the bank!

Tip #3: Do You Know Your Audience?

We’ve talked about the ways social media branding is useful, but how will you know it’s working? There is a way, and unlike mail surveys or television polls, you won’t have to wait weeks and months to see results. Simply start a poll on your desired outlet. The media mentioned above offer functions where you can pose a question with two or more answer options, and users can select their response. These polls can run for any length of time, from one day to one week. Once the poll closes, you instantly have your results – you can even see votes as they are happening.

Download our eGuide to social media so you can find ways to improve your social media effectiveness.

Ultimate Social Media Icons

 

Taking Advantage of a More Equal Selling Landscape for Indie Authors

Posted on by CMPR

What do all independent authors and publishers want most?  (Okay, other than an Oprah recommendation or a New York Times book review.)  Book distribution to booksellers.  But what if all of a sudden there are no bookstores and all publishers, indie and traditional, are vying for the same online sales?  It’s time to step up and take advantage of a more equal selling landscape for indie authors.

The Advantage for Indies

Indies have had to come up with ingenious ways of marketing themselves online for years.  While traditional marketing departments have certainly been utilizing digital marketing tactics, indie authors have developed their skills without the benefit of a big brand behind them.   And, in most cases indies aren’t promoting dozens of books at one time.  In an age where specificity, target audiences, and niche development are key, indies have the edge.

Also, from what I’ve been reading even after things “get back to normal” there may still be distribution problems such as supply chain issues, printing delays, and paper shortages while manufacturers and distributors try to stabilize their workforce and operations.  If you haven’t considered that this could be the time to take advantage of a more equal selling landscape for indie authors, start now by optimizing all of the aspects of your publishing and marketing tactics.

Five Things for Your To-Do List

  1. Book Product Presentation:  How does your book look?  Is your jacket professionally designed?  Is your interior designed?  Do you have a standard copyright page?  Did you have your book copyedited? Proofread?  Make sure your product can stand up to a traditionally published book as far as the quality is concerned.
  2. Website/Social Platforms: If you don’t have the money or time to revamp your entire website.  Or if your site already looks fabulous the way it is, make sure you have your new book on a page with all the requisite “buy” links and a synopsis.  Also, check all of your site’s social links to make sure they are working.  So many times I’ve gone to a website and tried an Instagram link and found it broken.   Be ready for any traffic you’ve generated to have a good experience and these basic things will go along way toward making that happen.
  3. Content Marketing/Social Media:  Go back to the basics of managing your shared media by posting at least two blogs per month and sharing on social media.  Facebook/Instagram at least twice a week and Twitter at least once a day.  Engage with followers and do a Google search every day on your topic/theme to see if there are any articles, quotes, or related content you can post in real-time.  Everyone loves to have their content retweeted or commented on, so be a friendly social user and engage, engage, engage.
  4. Bloggers/Podcasts: Reviews and interviews are still happening on these venues, even during this national emergency.  However, you should check the websites to make sure they are still accepting review copies the same way.  Some places may need you to contact them first and then send an e-galley to minimize contact points.
  5. Traditional media: If you have a topic that relates to what is in the news, can support a current story, or offer something new and credible, then, by all means, ping some journalists and producers.  But if you aren’t sure you should, don’t pitch people.  Also, subscribe to HARO so you can get a list of different stories/sources the media are working on.  You can respond directly to the HARO links to present yourself and your work.

To read more about the changing face of publishing today, check out these two articles:

New York Times, March 16, 2020

Interview, Nathan Bransford and Mike Shatzkin, April 1, 2020

Good luck and stay safe!