From time to time in this space, Balboa Press publishes articles written by our authors in which they share some aspect of their self-publishing journeys. These are the words of Stephanie Van De Ven, future Balboa Press Author. Click here to receive a free publishing guide and to receive more information on self-publishing your book with Balboa Press.

Energetic Execution & Engagement

Someone once told me that your income is a direct reflection of the people that you’ve healed & helped.  It stuck with me. BIG time!

It shifted my thinking into a self-reflection about how I use social media energetically and spiritually. Have I been able to help someone today? Has someone healed because of my messaging, posts or video? If you use this mindset to propel yourself forward into a social media marketing campaign- you’ll naturally attract like-minded followers and fans!

Energetic Execution & Engagement:

OKAY! You’re ready. Where to start? I would suggest that you start small and build big. Try this on for size and see what you think:

1) Choose THREE social media platforms that resonate with you and more importantly: Your Audience. Believe in them. Get familiar with them. Put your positive energy into them! They will be your best friends for a long time to come! ( plus, for the most part – it’s FREE!)

I have found a few interesting facts online at www.pewinterest.org

As of September 2014:

• 71% of online adults use Facebook
• 23% of online adults use Twitter
• 28% use LinkedIn

Demographics:

• Facebook is still, far and away, the most popular social media platform
• It boasts 1.19 billion worldwide users
• Facebook Posts with a photo generate 120% more engagement than simple text.
• Posts shorter than 250 characters have 60% more engagement than longer posts
• Thursday and Friday have 18% better engagement than other days of the week

What does this mean for you though? Choice!!

When you have chosen the platforms that suit your target audience best ( just Google: Social Media Platform Demographics) you need to either a) create pages and new accounts or b) if you already have accounts, prepare your social media execution plan!

Simple Steps:

• Create your pages using THREE social media platforms ( ei: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
• Ensure that your login name, title, and description – as well as every last little detail are a direct relation of your book and/or project.

NOTE: use the acronym K.I.S.S = Keep it Simple Silly! Make it EASY to find YOU online!

• Use up to date, relevant & professional pictures of yourself.
• Make sure the “banners” at the top are professional, and feature your book or project! You can create your own easily. (That is another google search or blog post!)
• Start collecting images, videos, and quotes that represent YOU & your Book/project. I beg of you – do not post anything inappropriate. Bad news travels so much faster! Don’t even let bad news buy a ticket.
• Make sure all images, pictures are relevant to the topic and style of your book and appropriate for your audience.

Once you’ve polished your sites, you’re ready to post. But what’s the formula? As many as possible all day long? 4 a day? One post at every meal? Here is what I suggest:

Post a rotation of:

1) Videos (Vlogs, great videos on YouTube relevant to your product/project shared videos, etc)

2) Images only with one short and engaging question. (Asking questions online are one of the best R.O.I – return on investment)

3) Text or Testimonial only. (has someone read your book and loved it? Post it!)

NOTE: You want to engage fans/followers. Incorporate them, comment back, share their posts, encourage them & thank them. This is the KEY to exposure and elevation of existence in the viral world.

Rotate one of each, three times a day, on ALL Social Media Platforms. 3 X 3 X 3. This gives plenty of exposure, excitement, variety and reaches as many different fans/followers as possible. You can elevate the frequency of your posts once you feel you’ve got the hang of things and you have a stockpile of relevant images, videos, quotes, etc. (just save it all to a folder on your desktop!)

One last thing I would recommend? Using Hootsuite.

Best.Social.Media.Management.Tool.EVER!

If you missed part 1, you can read it here: Manifestation, Motivation, Determination and Destiny

More in the part 3 of this Blog Series: Spiritual Selling without Selling Yourself Out!

Balboa Press authors who’d like to share a 350-600 word experience related to the self-publishing of their books, are invited to do so by sending a message through our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BalboaPress, by tweeting us @BalboaPress, or by emailing dghosh@ balboapress.com. We may not be able to use every story, but we will read and consider them. Balboa Press reserves the right to edit stories for content, grammar and punctuation accuracy; as well as for space.