I recently published an interview with social media guru, Shama Kabani, and author of the newly released book, “The Zen of Social Media Marketing.” At age 24, Shama has reached the status of one of Business Week’s Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25. This is part 2 of the interview. I would like to thank Shama and her staff for their generosity in sharing of their time and expertise in this burgeoning field. You can also follow Shama on Facebook and Twitter.
7) What social medial sites do you find most effective for promoting a book?
Twitter and Facebook are two favorites because information travels so fast there. Each person can share your book with their network – and before you know it – thousands of people have seen your message.
8) What types of information should one be posting about their book?
Valuable information. A free chapter for example is a great way to entice folks. Excerpts, exclusive interviews with the author, offers for free review copies are all part of solid online book marketing.
9) How much personal information should an author include in their posts? Should they stick to information tied directly to their book, or should they show a bit of their personal life?
It depends on the author’s comfort level and their book topic! If who they are is relevant to the book, it makes for a great story. My personal experience has been that people love to get to know authors. It is such an intimate thing to get to know the person behind the book. I always love meeting my favorite authors.
10) I know that “Content is King,” but for a busy author, can you give any suggestions as to where to easily find good content?
There are no shortcuts to good content! If it isn’t good, people won’t respond. Take the time to cultivate compelling content. And, it doesn’t have to be written. Even if you are an author, a video can go a long way. Use the medium that works for you. Draw from your book.
11) We keep hearing that blogging is important for drawing people to one’s book website. Any tips on good author sites to blog on? And what are some effective ways to pull traffic to one’s own blog?
Blog on your website, and offer to guest blog for bloggers who reach your target audience. Twitter is a great site to research bloggers and get to know them. Once you have a good post, you can use social media to syndicate and drive traffic. Focus on juicy (yet relevant) headlines.
12) Your book is almost interactional, as the reader will have access to updated content. Was this your concept, and do you see this as the future of books?
This was my concept because it made sense for the topic. Social media is an ever changing platform. Yes, the core principles in the book are rock solid – but statistics change, user interfaces change. A live book is the only way to address this. I do think more books will go this route eventually. Publishing, overall, is changing so fast.
13) What have you found to be your most effective marketing strategies?
Blogger outreach. Finding bloggers I respect and sending them review copies has been a very efficient strategy. Their observations and insight is so keen – and their readers are the perfect buyers for the book. It is a win-win. I love that!
14) What’s the most “Out of the Box” marketing tool you’ve used that has worked?
Laptop Stickers. = ) I have a HUGE laptop sticker sporting my website address on the back of my computer. Since I travel frequently for speaking engagements and love working from coffee shops – it always catches people’s attention. It isn’t rare for people to come up to me and say – “Hey, I just Googled that address!”
15) Even though your book is touted as “the last social media guide you’ll ever need,” can we look forward to another book in your future?
After the immense success of this one and the overwhelmingly positive response from people – I’d say it is safe to say yes. = )
Thank you so much for taking the time to ask such insightful questions.
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