“The bottom line is that posting on social media doesn’t have to be a shot in the dark.”
I am a social media junkie. It’s embarrassing to admit how much time I spend in a single day scrolling through news feeds. It doesn’t matter which platform either: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, X… and now even Threads has become a daily habit.
Social media is a significant part of my full-time job at a state university, and I manage several other accounts for various organizations, too. But my true bread and butter on the social web comes from my own author brand.
For those of you who may not know me, my name is Julie Navickas and I’m a best-selling and award-winning contemporary romance novelist with Inkspell Publishing. I currently have three books published and my next novel is due to release in five days. Two more books are “on the books” to publish later this year as well.
Which means, my goal for 2024 is to find readers—and what better way is there to do that than social media? (There’s no better way. Trust me, I researched). Here are the top five tools I use to create visually appealing content, make it easy for readers to find my books, and track my performance:
1 – Canva. I’d wager to guess that if you’re reading this post, it’s because you’re an author with a vested interest in leveling up your brand on social media. It’s likely you already know about Canva (I’ve also talked about it in several of my previous blog posts, too), but Canva is the premier design tool. This tool allows you to search pre-designed templates—and then allows you to customize them for your needs.
Primarily, I use Canva to focus on Instagram (the most visually aesthetic social media platform). I create square, static posts, or select from reel templates. But the magic of Canvas doesn’t stop there. It’s a virtual bank of stock images and videos. I pay for the pro subscription (but you can also use it for free, just with less features) and receive access to literally anything I could ever need. Just last night I typed in “sexy man” and had literally a thousand results to choose from. (In case you’re curious, here’s where I landed.)
What I love most about Canva is how what I create works for multiple platforms. Keep your content under 90 seconds and it’s amazing what you can repurpose for TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and more.
2 – CapCut. Do you remember the Pedro Pascal eating a sandwich craze a few months back? Well, that was all CapCut. And no matter who used the template, it guaranteed more views on TikTok (and later Instagram, too).
I started using CapCut about a year ago and am just now getting more familiar with this tool and what it offers. When I do not have time to spend in Canva and need something quick to post, I scroll through CapCut and find a quick, trending template. In a way, I view CapCup as a compliment to Canva. It does the work for you and knows what’s trending. It also directly links to TikTok, making it a quick and easy upload.
3 – Later. There’s a multitude of social media scheduling tools (Hootsuite, Meta Business Suite, etc.) out there, but my favorite is Later. You can use Later for free or pay for a monthly subscription that’ll offer access to different features. Here’s what I really like about Later though… it does the work for you and recommends when to schedule a post based on your follower’s most active times. It’s amazing. Later is linked to my Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and TikTok accounts. I spend most of my time on Instagram (because there’s a massive bookish community there) and schedule my content based on Later’s recommendation of active users.
Pro tip: scroll through Instagram and engage with at least five others before you post your own content. Then, spend another ten minutes continuing to engage with those appearing on your news feed. I guarantee you; it generates more views and engagement with the post you just shared.
I also really like Later for the analytics it offers. I receive a weekly report in my inbox that breaks down my best and worst performing posts. It also provides metrics on new followers, click rates, and hashtag performance.
4 – LinkTree. One thing that drives me absolutely crazy is Instagram’s inability to post clickable links. In my opinion, it’s a massive oversight on Meta’s end and I hope it’ll be an added feature in the future. For now, though, there are only two ways to share a clickable link: in stories and as a single URL in the Instagram bio.
I first started just using my author website, but that approach had too many limitations. LinkTree offers users a central hub to share a multitude of links, making it easy for readers to purchase a book, sign up for my newsletter, or access my digital press kit click in a single click.
Like Later, LinkTree also sends a weekly report to my inbox with data on clicks and views.
5 – Analytics Access. Lastly, you need access to data. There are a variety of ways you can track your post performance—and I’ve mentioned several already. The bottom line is that posting on social media doesn’t have to be a shot in the dark. Understand what metrics mean and use the data to improve your performance. Here are a few key terms and what they mean:
Reach: number of users who saw your post
Impressions: total number of times your content appeared on a screen
Clicks: clicks on your content or account
Engagement: total number of interactions
Hashtag Performance: which were most used or best associated with your brand?
Sentiment: how users react to your content, brand or hashtags
I primarily track my social media performance using the professional dashboard in Instagram (my primary platform) and Later’s weekly analytics performance report. I also always keep my eye on TikTok views and will occasionally poke around Meta Business Suite to gauge longevity performance.
If you want to level up your author brand on social media, I highly recommend checking out these tools if you haven’t done so already. They really make content creation fun, data easy to track, and overall… improve your performance on the social web. Good luck!
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