A social media strategy is an essential part of publishing and marketing a title. Ooligan is a great example of the many uses of a social media strategy, as there is an almost constant revolving door of individuals coming in to work on a title at its many different stages as new students enroll and others graduate. A social media strategy document is the perfect way to get them up to speed on both your ideas for social media as well as the main selling points of your title. Now, getting started on this document may seem overwhelming at first, but here are some tips to guide you in the right direction.

Find a Previously Published Book

The first step would be to look at comp titles or any book that may reflect some key points or themes you’d like to highlight in your title. This does not mean writing down and copying the social media strategy, but it is a great way to see what works and what doesn’t. It may also allow you to discover innovative ways to utilize platforms that you may not have considered before. Remember to look for recent titles and similar-sized publishers as part of the process.

Narrow Down Your Platform

Targeting your audience is one of the most important aspects of marketing and social media, so once you get your ideas flowing it is time to narrow down which platforms you’re going to use. By focusing on one platform, you can better understand what your target audience may expect in terms of content. This doesn’t mean totally disregarding other platforms, but instead giving special attention to the ones where you can find the consumers you are looking for.

Look Outside of Bookish Accounts

A great idea is to look at other Twitter accounts that may support the themes of your title even if they aren’t related to the literary world. Our recent title, Laurel Everywhere, made a point to target mental health accounts on twitter in order to highlight the key themes of the book and the message the author wanted to get across. Incorporating a list of accounts like these can bolster your social media strategy and maybe even give you an opportunity to reach out to these accounts to further support your title.

Document Everything

The best advice overall, even if you totally disregard these other tips, would be to take screenshots and compile them in a document or presentation. This is essential to ensure you remember your information, but also to help you and others keep new team members up to speed. It allows you to incorporate explanations as well so you can write out what you like or don’t like about a specific image or example you have recorded.

These tips are by no means the only blueprint of a successful social media strategy document, but they can help if you feel like a fish out of water. There are countless ways you can use and learn from social media, so dive in and learn what you can. The last and final tip would be to discuss with your team. Social media, in my opinion, is best when it is a collaborative process, so take some or all of your team members on this adventure of social media research and see what you come up with!