Social Media Tools
Let’s take a peek at the cogs inside the machine and talk about why I write and how I write on Behind the Scenes Sunday! Today I’d like to talk about tools I use to manage my social media content and online presence in general.
A social media presence is a practical necessity for any author in this digital age, especially if you are a self-published or hybrid author. But many mid-list traditionally published authors rely heavily on social media as well to market their books, connect with readers, and generate buzz.
Personally, I am “regularly” active on four main social media apps:
- Twitter (Or X, if we must call it that)
- TikTok
I create daily content for each of these platforms and, in the interest of being completely honest with y’all, IT IS A LOT OF WORK. NOT EVERYONE CAN OR SHOULD DO THIS.
I have the luxury of being an author full time. Not everyone does. But that doesn’t mean you can’t utilize your time to the fullest and still have a kick butt social media plan. How do you do it? Spreadsheets and schedulers.
I use a spreadsheet to preplan all my content, so from one day to the next, I know exactly what is being posted to what platform. This way, I can also work ahead, creating collateral for posts that have yet to come! Work ahead when you can — it’ll save you time and stress.
I also use a service called Buffer to schedule and post content across multiple social media apps at once. This has been a life saver for me, since by far the most time consuming part of juggling multiple profiles will always be switching between them, trying to post at different ‘optimal’ times in each, etc. etc. Buffer has a free version of their service available, but if you can afford it, I highly recommend paying for their Essentials Plan. It has been well worth it for me.
As always, if you’re interested in supporting me and my work, I’ve got great news: my debut novel, Hungry is the Night is now available on all major platforms! Visit the link here to order your copy and, if you send a copy of your receipt to rsjromance@gmail.com, I will send you back an exclusive collection of deleted scenes from the book!