Social Media Groups enable you to promote your book to the people most likely to buy it. Plus identify and engage with potential clients for your core business.
According to Linkedin, “Groups provide a place for professionals in the same industry or with similar interests to share their insights and experiences, ask for guidance, and build valuable connections. You can find groups to join by searching at the top of your homepage. You can also create a new group focused on a specific topic or industry. Once you're a group member, you can join conversations, find answers, and send messages to other group members.”
To give you a better idea of just how large and targeted these groups can be, let’s take a look at a few. Are you a business consultant whose primary clients are company CEOs? Here’s a Linkedin group that might interest you. It’s titled Chief Executives. The group has 123k members. Job titles include Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Technology Officer.
Or how about a Linkedin Group called The CEO Elite? That group has 38k members. Are you interested in targeting the pharmaceutical industry? How about this Linkedin group: Pharmaceutical Managers? That group has 109k members.
If you want to get more local, you can swing over to groups on Facebook. Here’s just one example. You’ve written a book titled 10 Strategies for Growing a Successful Small Business. Because you live in New York, you want to target business owners in your home state. You search for possible groups on Facebook and there it is: New York Small Business Owners. 30k members.
Continue your search and you’ll find similar groups. In many cases, you can drill down to the county level.
How to Engage with Prospects
You’ve identified the groups you want to target. The next step is to join these groups. This is an easy process. All you have to do is go the group’s profile page and click the “join button.” When you do, your request is immediately sent to the group administrator for approval. The waiting time varies for each group. So don’t be discouraged if you’re not instantly approved.
The next step is to start engaging with the group members. You do this not by selling but by telling. If you’ve followed my advice, you already have the content of your book repurposed into articles memes, short videos and other content that addresses the interests of the members of the group(s) you’ve joined. Now that you’re a member, you can start posting this information.
How many times should you post to a particular group? Frequency depends on the specific group. If the group has a lot of activity with numerous people adding posts each day, then my suggestion is to post once a day, 2-3 times a week. The best time to post? Research shows people check their emails and social media in the morning, before they start their work day, usually between 8:00 and 10:00 am.
In addition to posting original content under your own byline, the other way to engage with a group’s members is to comment on their own posts. When you do, don’t simply say “Great” or “I liked Your Article.” Anyone can say that. But not you. You’re a Thought Leader.
So, say something thoughtful and incisive. Not just two or three words but two or three sentences. Commenting on what other group members put up is just as important as posting your own content. Both are a chance for you to shine and enhance your reputation.
John Rovito
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