As a savvy self-published author, you know it’s important to have a presence on social media in order to reach more potential buyers for your book. But be sure to follow social media etiquette for the best results: Don’t use your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok platforms to incessantly blast “buy my book!” at your followers. Another tip from the marketing experts at Self-Publishing Relief: Use social listening to increase the effectiveness of your sales efforts! Here’s how social listening can improve your book sales.

How Social Listening Can Boost Your Book Sales

What is social listening? With seven in ten Americans regularly using social media, your target audience will most likely be on one or more social media sites—making it the easiest and fastest way to connect with your readership. Social listening, also called social media monitoring, is the process of sifting through social media posts to find mentions of you and your book. For example, on Twitter you may find reviews of your book, comments about you as a writer, or even mentions about your most recent book signing event. Seeing what readers have to say about you and your book can guide you in developing your author brand and increase your sales and digital presence.

Use Social Listening To Your Advantage

Watch for what’s trending on various social media sites. Using trending topics as a conversation starter can give you a segue into talking about your book. This is a great way to reach a new audience that might not be aware of you and your writing!

Listen to what your readers are saying. If social media chatter seems to indicate your readers enjoy your personality, consider setting up a Q&A or an AMA (Ask Me Anything) online event. You can also ask what towns readers would like you to visit on a book tour. And if a certain character from your book seems to be a favorite with your audience, perhaps that character can take over your Instagram account for a day! A villain from your book might even delight in sassy comebacks similar to those found on the popular Wendy’s Twitter account.

Answer your readers’ questions! Readers’ questions can range from thematic elements in your book to your main character’s favorite ice cream flavor. Be sure to interact and reply to your readers! By engaging with your followers, you’ll create positive reinforcement that will lead to more people clicking the buy button when you mention your book is for sale.

Identify industry influencers. Through social listening, you may discover which podcasts, book tracking sites, and book bloggers your audience follows. Use this information to increase your author brand’s reach! If your social media followers are all on Goodreads or The Storygraph, you’ll want to be sure to join as well. And you should reach out to the book bloggers or reading podcasts everyone’s talking about to see if they’d be interested in an interview or a free copy of your book to review.

You can sift through online posts to find mentions by searching for appropriate keywords and hashtags. There are also tools for social listening, such as Hootsuite and Awario, that can help you track who is talking about your book and where.

Instead of simply talking at your online followers, remember to listen. Social listening will help you effectively target your message to your audience, reach more potential buyers—and ultimately boost your book sales.

Question: Which social listening technique do you already use?