Last week, I saw the movie The Switch. Afterwards, I got suckered into taking a couple surveys outside the theater. I was told that I could earn thousands of points just answering questions about TV shows on a machine labeled Nielsen, and I could use those points to pay my gas expenses for the next month. Well maybe not an entire month but at least a few miles. Thanks to my degree in Communication, I realized right away that this was a way for The Nielsen Group to collect more information about consumers that they can sell to all advertisers interested in TV.
Still, my love of all things media took over, and after three surveys I was hooked. But I was also tired so I wrote down the website so I could try to do more surveys from home. So far, I have almost 300,000 points on the website, known as RewardTV. Which brings me to the point of this post–advertisers are getting sneakier.
First of all, the RewardTV website does not indicate anywhere that it is affiliated with The Nielsen Group, so it is not immediately obvious that the site’s sole purpose is to collect information to make advertising more effective. Secondly, the way to obtain points is to take surveys regularly about various medias. The most common surveys ask about movies you recently saw or television shows that aired the night before, but every other question asks about how much you remember about specific advertisements that aired during the TV show or right before the movie previews. But not all the ads are obviously ads. Sometimes there is product placement, and sometimes there are phrases that actors slip in. Here are the top three sneakiest forms of advertisements I’ve learned about via RewardTV:
- Chrysler car in The Office. Michael Scott, the regional manager in the show, drives a Sebring. However, this type of product placement has been going on for years, and is pretty easy to spot.
- Camaro in SNL. Kenan does a skit where he talks about scenes from movies, but screws them up. In this skit, he casually adds a Camaro in one of the scenes. The only reason I picked up on this was because RewardTV asked me if I thought the use of the Camaro in the skit felt forced. Tricky.
- Pepto-Bismol in Project Runway. Again, I would not have noticed this one if Reward TV hadn’t asked. At the end of the most recent episode, the judge Nina Garcia remarks that one of the outfits looks like the color of Pepto-Bismol. Did this seem natural? Yes. Was it sneaky? Absolutely.
I’m not a big fan of advertising. I realize it’s become a huge part of our culture and America in particular has become so saturated with ads that I think we often don’t even realize anymore when we’re being sold a product. Advertisers now seem to be trying to find ways to get into our subconscious and force us into brand loyalty. (I realize this seems contradictory coming from a person trying to break into publishing, but there seems to me to be less underhanded ways of getting a person’s attention, and money).
Have you ever seen the show Mad Men? They’ve been doing it for years, trying to use psychology to become rich. But nowadays they are getting sneakier, so we must get wiser. Now, I’m not saying don’t consume any media. I love media. I love television and movies, and I even enjoy watching certain ads (for the entertainment value). But don’t let strangers pretend to know you and your needs. Research, be aware. And if you ever find yourself on RewardTV taking surveys in hopes of winning some enticing prizes (for me it’s the $10,000), tell them these ads had no effect on your perception of the product. That’s what I do.
Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way. (And if you want guidance on how to overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed, read Your Writer Platform’s “Are You Building Your Writer Platform at Gunpoint?”)
Don’t use social media just to sell books
Kristen Lamb’s “Social Media, Book Signings & Why Neither Directly Impact Overall Sales” goes into depth on why this is not a good strategy, but basically you don’t want to spam people/just make noise, and you will not develop any real relationships this way (meaning, you won’t attract real fans).
Rachel Thompson suggests spending more time online finding people who may be willing to review your books, and she gives a list of suggestions in her article “Why ‘Read My Book!’ Doesn’t Work…And What To Do Instead”
Focus on one or two platforms first, then build from there
Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Pinterest. Google. Youtube. Goodreads. LinkedIn. Tumblr. The list goes on and on. You can be active on all these channels, but it’s probably best to pick one or two and work on growing an audience there first. Every social media channel works a little differently, caters to a different audience, and has savvy users who expect others to use the network a certain way. The Book Designer’s “Do You Make These Online Marketing Mistakes?” offers tips, such as establishing one audience per channel and using landing pages.
Social Media Just for Writers also recommends researching your target market and then choosing your social media platform based on that in “How to Stop Wasting Time and Focus Your Book Marketing.” For advice on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and YouTube, read DBW’s “The Book Marketing Social Media Hierarchy: Which Sites to Use for Which Purposes.”
Business Insider broke down the demographics of some of the social media platforms. According to them, the 45- to 54-year-old demographic is growing, “27% of 18 to 29-year-olds in the U.S. use Twitter,” LinkedIn and Google+ are mostly male, Pinterest is mostly women on tablets, and Tumblr is mostly teens and young adults.
Eventually you can expand into other platforms. For a case study on why, read Kate Tilton’s “Why I Use Different Social Media Networks (And You Should Too) by @K8Tilton.”
For help determining which platform is best for you, read these articles:
“Instagram: Should You Be On It?” on Indies Unlimited
“How Tumblr Turned a Book Into a Bestseller” on GoodeReader
“Pinterest Unveils Buyable Pins, A Way To Purchase Things Directly Within Pinterest” on TechCrunch
“Pinterest Update: More Ways Authors Can Use Pinterest!” on Writers Win
“Indie Author Marketing Guide: Pinterest” on Musings and Marvels
“How I Made it to the Front Page of BuzzFeed Twice, and How You Can Too” on Matthew Barby
“Surprising News in Social Media – And a Twitter Tip” on Social Media Just for Writers
“Indie Author Marketing Guide: Twitter” on Musings and Marvels
“Guest Post: 8 Secrets to Increase Your Twitter Followers” on Musings and Marvels
“Guest Post: What Everybody Ought To Know About Facebook Account Management” on Musings and Marvels
“Guest Post: Want to Step Up Your Facebook?” on Musings and Marvels
“Indie Author Marketing Guide: Goodreads” on Musings and Marvels
“Indie Author Marketing Guide: LinkedIn” on Musings and Marvels
“Indie Author Marketing Guide: Google Plus” on Musings and Marvels
“Which Social Media and Marketing Tools Are Publishers Actually Using Successfully” on DBW
Strategize how you will build your platform
Erindor Press’s “Platform Building Primer” is a good start, and advocates setting expectations and figuring out the best way to share content, either via blogging, email newsletters, or something else (and you can use social media to promote that content).
The Loneliest Planet shared a post, called “One Writer’s Platform (Part 2) Events and PR,” which goes over techniques of marketing offline (such as doing public readings and lectures) but also adds that it’s worth taping these performances and uploading them to Youtube to share.
Use lots of images/visuals
People tend to engage more with posts, tweets, etc. that are visual. According to Rebekah Radice’s “5 Steps to Get Massive Engagement With Your Visual Content,” “43% of social media users share pictures.” She recommends having consistent colors, using templates, appropriate fonts, and to create infographics, images, and videos.
Build Book Buzz recommends creating different types of images, including picture quotes, tipographics, and infographics. For tips on how to actually create these images, read Social Media Just For Writer’s “Writers: Use Visuals to Market Your Books.”
Make use of social media tools
Here’s a list of resources, along with helpful tips and links to additional tools:
Kate Tilton Social Media Resources
Kate Tilton Authors on Instagram
Kate Tilton Book Bloggers on Instagram
Social Media Examiner
Storyfinds
Momentum
RelayStation
Magnolia Media Network
Books Go Social
Keep up to date on new platforms and tools
Lastly, the social media landscape is constantly changing, so it’s good to stay up to date. One example of a relatively new tool/platform is Aerbook, which according to PW turns social media into a virtual bookstore. Earlier this year, Social Media Just for Writers wrote about how indie authors can use Aerbook, which allows you to share previews and even sell ebooks on social media networks, as well as see analytics on your shares.
According to the article, there are three product plans to choose from:
Aerbook Retail is free, no credit card required. It gives you the social look inside the book, email capture popups within the sample, stats on how the book is used, and the ability to share the link and also get web page widgets that launch the Aerbook. This plan lets you sell the book directly through Aerbook, and our service earns 15% of the purchase price after credit card fees are deducted.
Aerbook Plus gives you everything Aerbook Retail delivers, plus lets you add links to other retailers, like Amazon, iBooks, or even your own purchase page. Aerbook Plus is $49 per year.
Aerbook Flyer includes everything above, but there’s no direct sale through Aerbook’s commerce service. You’ll add links to other retailers. Flyer also lets you do book giveaways, and includes 500 directly delivered, complete books annually. Flyer is $99 per year.
Got any social media tips? Please share in the comments!
