Social Networking for Publishers

No one can possibly have escaped the explosion of social networking and web 2.0. Although these are a relatively new phenomenon there are already statistics proving the benefits of investing in social networking. As publishers seek innovative ways to drive consumer engagement with greater efficiency, the integration of social media and search marketing offers a compelling opportunity for publishers to actively participate in social media and make their brand / titles a natural part of online conversation.

LJ Interactive currently manage social media campaigns for a number of publishers with titles promoted as varied as gardening, crime, medical, health, fitness, arts and crafts, autobiographies and many more. Contact Us to find out more.

What does Social Networking mean for publishers?

A Social Media campaign, or Social Networking, can help you build up closer relations with your target market. It helps you build a relationship by being relevant to what people are talking about, and it also helps you get under reader’s skin and get to know what makes them tick.

Social networking may not always be about selling directly but it can ultimately lead to an increase in sales as consumers interact with you and learn to trust in you. Previously we have carried out social networking for publishers allowing a closer relationship to develop between customers and the brand.

Social Media Campaigns

Social media campaigns usually focus on two main areas. Firstly, communicating directly with users through branded social media, for example, building Twitter audiences, YouTube accounts, Facebook pages and maintaining a search optimised online web presence amongst a few. Secondly, and most effective, building relationships with relevant social media networks, blogs, forums, feeds etc and working with them to promote the titles. Both these elements work in harmony together and both sides would preferably need addressing by any publisher.

Branded Social Media

Communicating directly with users through branded social media. We suggest starting with the following for own brand media:

Blog
Facebook Page
Twitter Feed
Youtube

Connecting With Established External Social Media Networks

A similar approach to the branded social media above but with an aim to build relationships with relevant external social media networks such as blogs, forums, official websites, non official web sites and reviewers.

Once the communities and individuals to target for a campaign are identified, it's time to start the conversation. There's no standard in with these contacts, contribute to, talk to and maintain contact with key networks through targeted conversations.

We recognise the need to speak to niche communities as well as large communities. Although niche groups will have small numbers, they may be more relevant to a title and can produce a better return on investment.

Typical approaches are as follows:

User offers
Competitions (allows e-mail database generation - make sure you ask for the relevant permissions to be included)
Book reviews
Offer of free content to use on site, serialisations etc.