After the launch party – promoting your book on social media can be challenging. However, there are numerous opportunities.

In May 2019, my daughter, Anne Feustel, published her book “Our Favorite Movies: How Films Affect Our Mental Health.” In my June blog post, I focused on how she used social media to promote her book shortly after it was published. That post included ways to invite people to the launch party.

For this post, I focus on using social media after the launch party. However, these ideas only scratch the surface of all the ways you can promote a book on social media. Your thoughts and experiences on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

 

First, a Look at Anne’s Book

“Our Favorite Movies” shares stories from Anne’s own mental health journey and explores the history of cinematherapy as a tool to create healthy coping skills and sustain personal growth.

She details how each of the 12 movies she includes can affect our mental health, then adds her thoughts and some fun behind-the-scenes facts. Some of the films included are Inside Out, When Harry Met Sally…, Fried Green Tomatoes, and The Princess Bride.

 

At the Launch Party

  • Visuals are a critical ingredient of social media posts. Anne wisely invested in the services of a professional photographer to document this special event. The photos he took captured the joy and excitement of Anne and all who attended.
  • Anne also encouraged attendees to take their own photos and share them. People posted them to her Facebook event and on their own social media accounts. I shared several photos on my personal page on Facebook, which led directly to at least two people ordering her book.
  • A small group of us went out to dinner after the launch party, and asked our server to take a picture. I liked it so much that I made it the cover photo for my personal page on Facebook.

 

After the Launch Party

  • After the party, Anne shared this post on Facebook:

“We had a wonderful book launch party today! Thanks to those of you who came out! It was so much fun. For those who couldn’t make it, you can still get an autographed copy, whether you’re in the Denver area or somewhere else. Let me know if you want a copy by messaging me, emailing, commenting, calling, etc.”

  • She went on to let readers know that her book is now available on Amazon – both in paperback and as an e-book, sharing the link to make ordering easy. Here’s that link:

https://www.amazon.com/Our-Favorite-Movies-Affect-Mental-ebook/dp/B07T3QF359/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1IMBEP07DJ6RT&keywords=our+favorite+movies+how+films+affect+our+mental+health&qid=1561862730&s=gateway&sprefix=our+favorite+movies%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1&fbclid=IwAR2dKt77t7sFTN_RZFilww73yaxFM8bSc3h2qJmuAf8P4q_H1ig1jVuQit8

  • Others who attended the party also posted to Facebook during or after the event, tagging Anne in their posts. They also included the purchase link so their followers could find it easily. Twitter and Instagram would also be great sites for these “in the moment posts.”
  • Be sure that you and others promoting your book regularly check your notifications wherever you post. People appreciate being thanked for their interest. And, by reading the comments on my post, I found out about more people wanting the book. I hope you have the same experience.

 

How About You?

Have you written a book? How did you use social media to promote it? What worked well and what was less successful? What advice can you add?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 45 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, business consultants, job seekers, and more – ranging from entrepreneurs to people in large corporations. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.