Today, writers know that it isn’t enough to write a terrific book. You have to also publicize that book. Even if you hire someone to handle your social media so that you can concentrate on your writing, it’s always good to have a basic understanding of what your social media director should be doing. This post will focus on why writers need graphics, particularly on forums such as Facebook.
It’s a bit ironic that this post encourages authors — those creators of beautiful words — to also create graphics. However, a picture is worth a thousand words…at least where social media is concerned. Photos and graphics are eye-catching and will help you improve your social media engagement. In other words, it will get your followers more interested in your news.
Images can double the engagement on your social media posts.
Yet, just because you’re an author and now considered a public figure, doesn’t mean you have to share personal photos. Stock photo sites are a great alternative and this does’t mean you have to spend money. There are plenty of free images available through sites such as Unsplash and Splitshire as well as great online tools for making your graphics including Pablo, Canva and PicMonkey.
One trick that authors use with great results is to pick a favorite quote from your book, lay it over an image and voila, you’ve created an advertisement for your book without the obnoxious “buy my book” plea.
Another idea is to pick a favorite quote and place it over a photo. The idea behind using graphics is not necessarily to lead people to your website or Amazon, although those are great goals, but it’s also important to simply engage with your followers by creating something of beauty and interest.
Best practices…
Here are some dos and don’ts for how to best use graphics with Facebook and encourage sharing from your page.
Branding and relevance. Find images that will appeal to your audience and use those that speak to your personal brand.. If you’re a romance writer, maybe a photo of a puppy cuddling a kitten will earn some comments. If you’re a travel writer, choose a photo of one of your favorite destinations.
Evoke an emotion. Find images that will generate a smile or a chuckle. Stay positive unless your company or brand is issue oriented and deals with activism.
Typography. When using one of the applications mentioned above, make sure to choose fonts that are easy to read. Small scroll fonts may be pretty, but in terms of impact, a bolder font will make a stronger impression.
Hashtags. Even though you may have added typography to your graphic image, remember to add text to your Facebook post and include hashtags to further attract an audience. Using the same example as above, if you’re a romance writer you can simply use #romance. For travel, you’ve got it…#travel or be specific such as #Italy.
Graphics are a great way to bring interest to your Facebook posts. Remember to change your cover photo when appropriate such as around holidays, sales, or when you have a new book launch.
If you have a suggestion on how you use your Facebook photos, I’d love to hear it.
