Ryan Aslatt | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's booksThis is a guest post by Ryan Aslatt. Ryan is a web strategist and blogger. He currently works at Web Design Agency WebAlive. He is used to writing well-researched articles that readers will find insightful, engaging and highly informative.

I’m still figuring out how to use video for my book marketing, let alone LIVE video. So, these tips were of particular interest to me! I hope you find them as useful as I did.

5 Tips on How to Use Live Video for Social Media Marketing

Are you one of those who are still wondering how to use live videos for book marketing? Then you are in the right place.

By now, as you have reached this article roaming around here and there, you are probably already aware of the tons of marketing tools available to connect with readers. Of the many options available, perhaps you are currently considering “Live Video” as a way to promote your books.

That’s an excellent choice! Live video marketing is becoming an increasingly important part of the overall digital marketing strategy. Humans are visual beings and these days they crave and expect video.

I am here to help you with some ideas on how to use live video for social media marketing of your book.

Let’s get started.

Live video | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books

1. During a book launch

Whenever you prelaunch a new book, make a live video and let people have a glimpse of it even before it’s even available on Amazon. You need not use a high-quality, expensive camera for this. Just take out your smartphone and make a live video!

These live videos have been proved to be more effective than static posts. Viewers can interact directly through the live videos and clarify any confusion or questions regarding your book.

2. Share the happenings of a live event

Share the happenings of a live event, such a book reading or book launch party, in a live video. This is the perfect kind of content to share via live videos. Live events are exciting to people and generate curiosity for your books. So, these videos are likely to increase sales.

If you have a future event scheduled, you can also use live video to promote it. More people will get to know about the upcoming event than if you just announced it through a regular post. They can also contact you over the live feed if they need to know anything about it. This increases the possibility of a successful event.

3. Go behind the scenes

Go behind the scenes with your readers. Live video is a great way to do so. Show them how you operate and do things.

Show how you prepare for something and what methods you use. This will not only let people see the exciting story related to your work but also create a sense of transparency and affinity.

4. Hold a Q&A session

Hold a live Q&A session using live video. It is one of the best ways to get to your audience. You can build a strong relationship with them. And a strong relationship with your readers is an important thing.

Choose a topic your readers are interested in and answer them live. Makes the process faster and readers get answers to their queries.

You can also answer the FAQs in live videos so that readers get to know your books quickly. In a sense, this is a form of customer service — an essential part of any business. Watching videos is preferable to some than reading.

You can provide any other thing that is informative with these kinds of videos. Is your fantasy book based on real-life events? Explore them in a live session. Do you wish to expand on your non-fiction book? Explain key concepts so that readers understand them correctly.

5. Book reading

You can read your book in live video. This kind of event is king in the social media platforms.

This helps you introduce your book to readers. For many readers, there’s nothing more intimate than having an author read the book in their own voice. Readers get to know your book through these videos and indulge in purchasing.

6. Hold a live interview

On your live videos, you can conduct an interview of a reader, an influencer, or one of your fellow authors.

When interviewing a reader, you would be providing your potential readers a taste of what they can expect from your work. This is a highly effective way of engaging your audience.

If you are interviewing one of your fellow authors, people watching your live video get a peek behind the screen. They get an idea about what activities work in the background, long before the book hits the stores. They also see the differences and similarities between different writers.

An interview can thus be a fantastic tool to humanize your author brand. This way, you’re more than a name. It gets easier for people to think of you as a friend. That has the potential to keep pumping your author brand recognition and engagement.

Conclusion

Live videos are a powerful pathway to reach readers and increase sales through engagements. They help engage more readers and also help create trust because of transparency.

These are merely some ideas. Those who are confused by the medium and stuck for ideas can get started with these. Once you get started, you will gradually discover new stuff to share and reasons to go live more often!