Due to the massive response to our last post about when to use adwords, I’ve asked a few friends to put together guest posts that describe how to market a book, or a product with a low price point using methods other than Adwords Marketing.
Our first guest will be Jacob Morgan, social media strategy expert and creator of Search Marketing Salon
Marketing Your Product Through Social Media, How?
By Jacob Morgan
When trying to market something such as a book, social media can really be a powerful marketing tool. Social media is going to allow for something much more powerful then a PPC campaign, it’s going to allow for the author to build a relationship with the reader. There are several great examples of how authors have used social media to further market their books, take for example the best selling book by Dan and Chip Heath called “Made to Stick.” This duo created a very popular blog based on their book that receives around 1 million views each month (according to Quantcast). Rohit Bhargava from Ogilvy also created a site for his new book “Personality not Included,” that has also been doing quite well. The point is that social media is a great way to market a book while building relationships with your readers. Not only that, but social media doesn’t have a direct cost associated with it, yes, you do have to spend your time to make it work but you don’t have to budget a direct amount like you do with something like Adwords.
So what are some ways you can market your book online using social media?
First of all create a blog for the book that talks about specific issues in the marketplace.
Basically use real world examples or advice that has to deal with your book. For example, if your book is called “The Ethical Executive,” then you may want to create a blog and write about real world example of how executives ARE or AREN’T being ethical. There should be no problem finding a new example every day. You can also give your “ethical tip of the day” to readers. Maybe you can even get some interviews with executives that you can put up on your blog.
Reach out to other bloggers
Find bloggers out there that talk about business, marketing, ethics, etc. and ask them to write a post about your book, this is probably one of the best ways to get the word out. Ask as many relevant bloggers as you can, this will allow you to capture the blogger’s attention as well as the bloggers’ readers attention. If done properly you can have a groundswell effect work for you that will get you a lot of attention.
Join Twitter
Twitter is a great way to connect with and build relationships with users. I have around 700 followers on twitter and every time I write a new post or come across an interesting article I send it out to 700 people instantly. Don’t underestimate the power of twitter. If you have something to say and something of value to provide, then do it. You can also run special promotional deals (not just on twitter) where you give your twitter followers a special promotional code for 10% off the book.
Get on Linkedin
Linkedin is a great marketing tool that many people neglect. There is a section on linkedin that let’s you ask and answer questions to your network (and others). Why not create a question on linkedin titled “What is an Ethical Executive,” and ask your network what they think about the subject? Of course you can also make a plug for the book when asking the question. You can also join the various business networks out there and let them know about your book.
Get on Facebook
Facebook is another great way to market your book. One of the things you can do is post your new blog post links in facebook so that your entire network sees the updates. You can also create a facebook fan page for all of the loyal readers of your book/blog. If you do create a fan page, make sure you interact with your fans (this is a better strategy for once your traffic has picked up).
Look for Syndication or Partnership Channels Online
Writing a blog on a particular subject is great for syndication provided you add valuable content to the blog. My Social Media Blog for instance is syndicated on social media today, marketing.alltop.com, and socialmedia.alltop.com. This means that my reader base increase exponentially. If you are looking to market a book then getting syndicated in niche communities is a great way to get the word out.
Use Your Already Existing Channels to Spread the Word, Offline and Online
Do you have a link to your site in your email signature? What about on your business card? Are you telling people about your book through twitter, facebook, and linkedin? Do you attend industry events where you can tell people about the book? Do you speak at small conferences or events?
Create a Flickr Account
People love images, why not create a flickr account devoted to the most and least ethical executives out there? You can also ask your readers visitors to upload photos that the come across as well. Hold a contest; offer a free signed book or $100 cash prize to the person that gets the best photos up.
Participate in Online Discussions Around Your Topic
Do some research and find some business social networks, join then, and then join the business conversation. Linkedin is one, Ryze is another, Workology is European networking site, there are many others out there too, you just have to spend some time researching. Join and connect with as many people as you can, the more relationships you build the greater your marketing reach is going to be. You can also check out business forums or community sites.
Cross Promote, Be Clever and Be Creative
When using the multiple social media channels out there it’s important to cross promote. For example, you may tell all of your twitter followers to connect with you on facebook, etc. Probably one of the most important things you need to remember is be clever and be creative. Don’t be scared to try out a new marketing tactic that hasn’t been done before. Heck there are several authors out there that have even given their books away for free! Inject personality in everything you do and try to think outside the box, get creative and have fun with your marketing ideas, remember the goal here is to build relationships.
The above tips should provide for a solid social media marketing foundation. These ideas can be used for virtually every product/service out there, you just need to think of a unique angle or promotional campaign that targets your users.
Thanks for reading
Check out my Social Media Blog
Follow me on Twitter
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Connect with me on Facebook
A big thanks to Jacob for his coverage of what social media initiatives would work for marketing a book such as The Ethical Executive.
Now what do you think? Is there anything in your experience that you think would work that we haven’t covered? Have you had any experience using these networks that you would like to share with us?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
There are some great tips for taking advantage of Social Media included in this post. Social Media can be a very powerful medium for marketing products and services.
I agree wholeheartedly with the concept of using Social Media to build a rapport with your target audience. Establishing yourself as a contributing member of the online community you’re attempting to market any product or service to is absolutely essential to gaining the exposure you need, regardless of whether your goal is to sell a product, a service or simply educate people on a given topic.
Using Jacob’s Twitter analogy as an example, let’s say Jacob tweets about an e-book he has written. That tweet will reach nearly 700 people instantly, as he mentioned. Take it one step further, though…let’s say 10% of his followers like the e-book and retweet the information to their followers? If those 70 people have, on average, 100 followers each, that means Jacob’s e-book has now been shared with about 7,000 people…all without spending a dime in advertising.
Social Media is very powerful and has certainly become the wave upon which some of the most successful internet marketers today have chosen to ride when it comes to driving targeted visitors to your website or blog. Good info, Jacob! By the way…you’ve got a new Twitter follower. See how that works!
hey Aly,
thanks for the kind words and thanks for following
it’s always great to meet another seo-er in the world!
Im glad you found the information useful, i definitely think that social media is one of the best ways to build rapport with your users.
thanks for reading and commenting, glad we were able to connect on twitter!
Hey Jacob – great post. It can get so
overwhelming, and soak up so much time with so
many choices! I try to focus on one or two and
try to do something with that. For example, I
recently contacted a bunch of bloggers in my
niche and offered a pre-prepared Q&A along with a
giveaway – and got a great response. Here’s one
example of the result of this effort:
http://blondereviews.blogspot.com I also just
signed up for twitter ( I know, I’m a dinosaur!)
but am amazed at how many people are following me
already. I’m not entirely sure of “Twitter
etiquette” yet – such as, is it acceptable to be
shamelessly promoting your book? I’ve found that
I’ve made some really dumb mistakes on some
social networking sites, speaking about my book,
and I haven’t quite figured out how to utilize it
correctly without stepping on people’s toes and
having them say things like, “We don’t use this
site to promote ourselves” and things of this
nature. Ooops! Any info on this topic would be
greatly appreciated.
With ongoing thanks and much appreciation,
Sally Shields
author of, The Daughter-in-Law Rules: 101
Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends with)
Your Mother-in-Law!
thanks for the great tips…
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