10 Reasons Why Authors Should Embrace Twitter: Social Media Marketing
Of all the social media networks, Twitter is my favorite. As an author, it allows me to locate and connect with my target audience. It’s also 
been a fantastic force for driving traffic to my website, generating sales, and attracting media interviews. If you’re an author and you still aren’t sure if Twitter is right for you as part of your social media marketing strategy, following are some reasons that may make you reconsider.
1. Cultivate Your Fan Base – One of the many reasons why Twitter users love this platform is that it is easy to connect with authors, news sites, and celebrities. Current and future readers are spending time on Twitter and they are seeking interesting people to follow. You should be one of them!
2. Instant Feedback – The real-time, fast-paced action on Twitter is part of its major appeal. You can ask a question and get immediate responses. Your readers can share their thoughts with you. Twitter can be downright addictive once you understand its power, and can be useful in helping you understand what is on the minds of your readers.
3. Media Opportunities – Media professionals, including reporters, editors, and producers, are using Twitter on a daily basis. More importantly, they are searching Twitter to find sources for stories. If you maintain an active Twitter account, you increase the likelihood of being found.
4. Twitter Stats Are Climbing – According to a report from Compete.com, Twitter is now one of the top 20 websites in the world. User engagement is also up on Twitter, with visitors spending an average of over 9 minutes on the site with each visit. Further research by Compete shows that 56% of users who follow a brand on Twitter say they are more likely to make a purchase from that brand, while only 47% of Facebook users said the same for brand “Likes.”
5. Increase Website Traffic – Each time you publish a new post on your blog, share it with your Twitter audience (title plus link to read the full post). Twitter is a tremendous source for driving website traffic.
6. Get Extra Mileage from Blog Content – As you share each new blog post, you should also schedule it to repeat. We aren’t all looking at Twitter at the same time and because content updates happen frequently, you are likely missing the bulk of your audience if you only tweet a blog post one time. I recommend posting once on the first day, again the next day, again a week later, and then every other week for 90 days (stagger the days and times). Twitter users don’t care when the content was written, as long as it is still relevant. This strategy will increase engagement and traffic to your site.
7. Build Your Following – One important way to increase your followers on Twitter is by making an effort to follow other people. You can’t just sit back and wait for people to find you. Instead, look for them. Search for Twitter users by keywords related to your book topic. Also search for media professionals who cover your topic. A great source for finding media pros on Twitter is MuckRack.com. The hope is that the people you follow will check you out and follow you back.
8. Generate Sales – When you cultivate an audience on Twitter by sharing great content, you build a loyal audience. Then, when you have something to sell—like a new book release or a companion product or service—you will have a captive audience interested in buying what you have to offer!
9. Get Found – As you share content on Twitter, you should start to notice new followers. Many will find you based on the keywords in your tweets. For example, if you tweet vegan recipes, Twitter users who are searching for “vegan” and “vegan recipes” will find you and likely follow you as a result.
10. Fall in Love – Twitter is a fun and educational social network. Be sure to follow the people and news sources that cover topics you’re interested in. When you begin to discover the value of Twitter and enjoy using the site, your enthusiasm will be reflected in your overall success there.
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