Are you someone who would say they’re ‘on’ social media but then again you’re not really ‘on’, you’re more just having a squiz?

And do you ever think, “I should post something…” which is followed quickly by, “What the hell would I post about?”

If you are, it’s okay. There are more of us out here than you think and there are ways to get you posting and building your author platform when you don’t really ‘do’ social media.

Because whether you like it or not, having a social media presence is an absolute necessity.

Yes. Yes it is.

But the good news is, for those of us who aren’t really ‘posters’ I’m going to show you how I make social media work for me and maybe it can work for you too.

I should note, I’m not going to tell you how to get a lot of likes or use SEO or build followers. This is just how to have a presence at the bare minimum, so when a publisher comes knocking and they want a bit of a squiz at you (yes, they will check your social media) they will see you’re not completely silent.

Step One: Grab some butchers paper and brainstorm all the things that are an interest to you and that you think you could post about. Anything at all, it might be as random as V8 cars, Tupperware, archery, sneakers, reading, crafting, writing (obviously), music.

Step Two: Check if there is anything in this list that has a connection to something else on the list. On my list was: watching movies and reading books which are easy ones to tie in with writing but not so much my love of running and folk music which was also on the list. I also love funny things so I could definitely share funny writing or reading memes but not so much my life as a school mum. Do you see a few things forming a pattern in your list? If you used the above random list you might decide to post about writing and reading but also crafting as an insight to you. If your writing had a medieval slant than I would definitely include the archery!

By honing in on a few key things to post about it makes our job easier when deciding what to post.

Step Three: There needs to be some self promotion in a social media presence as well, because really for a business account that’s what we’re here for as well as interaction. So, go ahead and brainstorm all the things about your book and or writing life that people might be interested in. Ie a teaser, a review, an ‘Out Now’ post, a Sale post, a reminder to subscribe to your newsletter, a shot of your desk.

Step Four: By now we might have a list of ten things. That means you’ve got at least two posts a week already worked out. Next up is working out a schedule of where to post those ten things. I find it easier to be consistent and use a ‘First Wednesday of the month, Second Tuesday of the month type scenario. When I match a consistent day with a consistent post ie Every Second Wednesday of the Month I will post a Teaser it takes the decision making away for me and saves a lot of time. It looks a little something like this.

Step Five: Then it’s just a matter of filling this in across the month (see the pic below). From here we can see if there are any blank spots that need filling and make sure we have an even spread of self-promotion and sharing because nobody wants to be a salesman all the time.

Step Six: Being able to see what you are posting for the month means you know what pictures are needed or what you need to create in Canva or other creation site. If you are doing teasers or quotes, it makes it easier to make these in bulk. If you’re only posting one quote a month, do up six using a template and you’ve got six months worth of quotes done!

Step Seven: Once we have the content created then it’s just a matter of scheduling the month in advance. I use Content Planner in Facebook but there are a number of different websites and apps you can use like Canva Planner or Planoly. (By using a scheduler I can also put a bit more effort into hashtags which I figure should work as hard as possible for my post and I always use the full thirty.)

That’s it! You’re scheduled for the month!

In more good news, you really only need to repeat Step Five (planning the content), Step Six (creating the content), and Step Seven (scheduling the content) each time. The hard work and decision making is done.

And you can upscale or downscale the number of posts you do over a month. For me, it works out to 2-3 times a week which is probably not nearly enough but it’s all I have time for at this stage.

Let me know what you think!