Busy Authors Should Simplify Social Media Efforts by Analyzing What Works and Focusing on the Intersection Between High Reach and Engagement

As marketing efforts for authors and other industry professional begin to look beyond reach to engagement, a shift in thinking about the purpose and management of social support for our content and campaigns is needed. Whether you’re launching a new book or building and sustaining interest in your own platform, engagement is key. It’s not enough any longer to set up a hashtag, analyze reach or impressions and consider a campaign successful. In addition, with content more prolific than ever, finding ways to cut through the noise is essential.

On the other hand, if you are not reaching your target audience, it is impossible to engage with them. Both are necessary metrics to consider. For example, your Facebook insights include both reach and engagement for a reason. Of course, you must regularly consider your insights in order to glean information from them.

If your reach is down on a given week, start by replicating your most popular posts. What trends do you see? What media type is doing well? What do posts which reached the audience have in common? Then shift to look at your engagement on those posts. Which had both high reach and engagement? Which posts did your audience engage with most? By looking at each metric together and individually, you can begin to replicate patterns since there really is only one golden rule when using social media to amplify your content. Find out what works and do more of it.