A laptop screen displays icons for authors social media marketing. — Social media for authors isn’t about constant self-promotion. Instead, it’s about connecting with your audience and building a community.

15.04.2025 •

Social Media Essentials for Authorpreneurs

Social media isn’t dead, no matter what some experts claim. Despite the controversies involving Elon Musk’s X, the potential TikTok ban in the US, and Meta’s AI data training practices, the numbers of social networks and their users are both increasing.

Good book marketing is all about visibility. One of the most efficient and easiest ways to show up is social media. Social media provides ample opportunities to connect with your audience. Success, however, demands a plan and consistent effort.

You’ve probably heard someone claim that social media marketing is dead, but that’s far from the truth. The overall number of active social media users and the growing number of networks tell another story.

Social media has the potential to expose you far beyond the traditional boundaries of book publishing. Not counting Facebook ads, using social media to sell books yielded poor results, but that’s shifting. Platforms like TikTok Shop and Instagram Shops now make it easier to market and sell your books directly. Even traditional bookstores are paying attention. Just look at how many titles go viral and then hit front-and-center displays. Just look at Colleen Hooper’s recent successes thanks to the BookTok community on TikTok. Thalia Bücher GmbH, a German bookstore chain, features its own BookTok section.

What social media network should you use?

Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, YouTube, BlueSky, WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, Snapchat, Threads, Mastodon, Reddit, Pinterest, Tumblr, Discord, Twitch, or even LinkedIn or Xing (German-speaking career-oriented recruiting social network), there’s no shortage of platforms to help you build an engaged audience. But with so many options, how do you choose where to start?

Not every platform is right for every author. To make the most of your time, ask yourself two key questions:

Where is your target audience most active?
Which platform do you enjoy using the most?

Different genres attract different readers. Age group, content format (text, images, or video), and interaction style all play a role. For example, a younger fantasy crowd might hang out on TikTok, while nonfiction readers might be more active on LinkedIn or Facebook.

Because of my day job as a writer and social media manager, I was already comfortable with X (then Twitter), so that's where I started. Its text-first approach made it a natural fit. I also signed up for Facebook because it was another platform I knew well and one that allowed for longer posts. I didn't use it as well as I should have.

I started my Instagram account at the end of 2024. I thought about giving up X, but because Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, I'd rather have a platform outside that ecosystem. For now, I’m focusing on growing my Instagram presence before considering other alternatives to X.

Engage with your audience: your author platform

Through emails, social media, or face-to-face communication during events, it’s easier than ever before to interact with your audience.

Don't burn out

Don’t spread yourself too thin across all those social media sites. Juggling multiple platforms takes up too much time and energy. Also, you’ll see a lot of the same people following you on various platforms, especially as an author connecting with other authors. That’s why I recommend maintaining a consistent presence on two platforms at most.

Why two? Because it gives you a safety net. If one network changes its algorithm, becomes irrelevant, or even shuts down, you’ll still have a connection to your audience elsewhere.

Many successful authors have seen their lively Facebook engagement disappear instantly due to Meta’s algorithm changes at the end of last decade. Or what about the mess Elon Musk made since he took over Twitter and turned it into X. The future of TikTok in the United States, with the possibility of a ban or sale looming, is still unknown. This is particularly important for authors, especially given Amazon's bid to buy TikTok. [1]

The simple truth is: No platform is guaranteed to last forever. Remember MySpace? Or what about Clubhouse? The latter’s popularity exploded during the pandemic and then vanished just as quickly. That’s the social media cycle: here today, gone tomorrow.

Complementary spaces

Even if you’re not active on every platform, claim your handle and set up a basic profile on the big ones. Add a short bio, a few evergreen posts, and most importantly, use those pages to point people toward your main platforms—whether that’s your website or your preferred social networks.

Better yet, promote your reader magnet and invite visitors to join your email list. Social media is a great discovery tool, but your email list is where you build lasting connections.

Besides the common social networks, think about joining an online community like Goodreads or Discord, or other online forums, literary communities, and book groups. Think of these platforms not as replacements, but as complementary spaces of your social media presence.

A note about your username

Choose a username that aligns closely with your domain name to make it easier for readers to find, and recognize, you across platforms. Ideally, you’ll want to use the same handle everywhere to reinforce your brand.

For example, I use @1skalexander on X, Facebook, and Instagram to keep things uniform across my speculative fiction and nonfiction presence. On book-specific platforms like Goodreads, BookBub, and Amazon Author Central, I adapt that to SK Alexander or Sascha K. Alexander because they match my respective brands.

Branding for beginners: a primer for authorpreneurs

“Branding for Beginners: An Authorpreneur's Primer On Creating A Compelling Brand” will guide you through the essential steps of creating your brand.

Promotion is secondary

While the ultimate objective might be to drive your sales efforts, you should not promote your books in a hundred different ways per day. Rather, your purpose should be to build connections and relationships with readers, authors, bloggers, and other people from the literary world. Through interactions with your social community, you will expand your reach and foster connections that can lead to increased visibility and sales.

Share current events and developments from your professional (and if you want, private) life. Celebrate small successes, whether it's completing a chapter in your book or receiving a new book review. Sharing your writing journey and achievements helps readers relate to you and your work better. Announce upcoming publications, alert readers to readings, and promote your other works.

However, don’t make it all about you or your work. Make it about your readers. For social media to be truly effective for your business, you must do what the name itself implies—be social!

Actively interact with your followers, answer questions, conduct surveys, and start discussions to build a personal connection and bind your readers closer to you. Ask for feedback on your writing, or share their favorite quotes or scenes from your books.

Testing Content for Social Media Platform Growth

Many social media users focus on follower count, but few are willing to do what’s needed for platform growth, says guest author Kayla Hicks.

A word about hashtags

Hashtags were once the go-to trick for increasing visibility and engagement, but the era of hashtags may be fading. Some platforms still allow users to follow hashtags, but after years of overuse and spam, many algorithms now reduce their importance. In fact, in December 2024, Elon Musk, owner of X, publicly advised users to stop using hashtags on X: “Please stop using hashtags. The system doesn’t need them anymore, and they look ugly.” [2]

On Instagram, the days of stuffing 30 hashtags into a single post are behind us. That kind of overload doesn’t help your reach, it just looks desperate. Instead, use hashtags thoughtfully and in moderation.

Also, tailor your strategy to each platform. Focus on hashtags that are relevant to your genre, niche, or audience. Consider developing a branded hashtag, something unique that reflects your personality and invites engagement. As Hootsuite puts it, “Creating a branded hashtag can be an effective way to promote your business and drive conversations. Branded hashtags can be as simple as using your company name or incorporating a tagline into a hashtag.” [3]

Social media takeaways

With more users and new platforms launching all the time, the era of social media is anything but over. However, don’t fall into the trap of signing up for every platform. Not all networks are created equal. And not all of them are worth your time. Each platform has its own vibe, audience, and expectations. The key is figuring out which one aligns with your goals and your readers.

A focused approach is far more effective than trying to be everywhere at once. Choose one or two platforms that fit your goals and your audience, and really invest in learning how they work. You’ll get better results and keep your sanity in the process.

In short: Show up with purpose. Connect with your audience. Share your passion. And always keep quality over quantity in mind.

_[1]_{https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/business/media/amazon-tiktok-bid.html}_[2]_{https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1869070358210572306?}_[3]_{https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-hashtags/}