Working in PR, it’s crucial to approach each account in its own unique way and not apply the same rules and strategy to each campaign. Sure, here at Tinderbox we manage the usual social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter on behalf of our clients, but we also take a close look at what else is out there and could be beneficial. And the options differ from client-to-client.
One of our clients is a local author with their own publishing company and the latest addition to the Tinderbox team is an author with a debut novel out early next year. And that’s why, at the moment, we’re cosying up to author-reader site Goodreads.
Arguably not initially as user-friendly as our familiar friends Facebook and Twitter, it’s taken us a little while to figure out the functions and discover what the site really has to offer.
So after having a good old play around with Goodreads, here’s our verdict for both authors and PRs…
1. Goodreads Author Pages
Author benefits: Sign up as an author on Goodreads and set-up your author page (different to a reader page), complete with links to your book on Amazon and reviews from readers. Here you can connect to fellow authors and more importantly, potential readers through targeted internal searches on Goodreads and adding external connections from Twitter and Facebook.
PR benefits: From a PR perspective, creating an author page is an ideal way to create buzz around the client and their book through introducing them to like-minded online connections. And with six-million registered Goodreads users, the scope for building a successful author profile is huge.
2. Sync your blog with your profile
Author benefits: Your Goodreads page is kept up to date with fresh new content, without you having to double your blog writing or mess around copying and pasting from your personal blog to your Goodreads page. Your Goodreads connections can get a feel for your writing through your posts: generating interest in your book.
PR benefits: A constantly refreshed author page is great for search engine optimisation, as an entry on Goodreads equates to another Google ranking on a search of the name of the author or their book.
3. Online events and promotions
Author benefits: Just as if you were a business you might hear about business events or networking groups on Twitter or LinkedIn, as an author, all of the events, promotions and meets (which include competitions, giveaways and book clubs) that you need to know about are broadcast on Goodreads. Attending these online events will introduce you and your books to a huge pool of prospective readers.
PR benefits: A key event in the Goodreads calendar, the “giveaway hop”, has proven instrumental in introducing our client to like-minded authors and readers and creating interest in their book through giveaways. This has also taken our online efforts offline as readers have received hard copies in the post, prompting positive reviews and feedback.
Goodreads is essentially another online marketing tool that employs the same general rules of social networking, but applies only to a specific and targeted audience – perfect for our client!
Oh yeah, and what about readers?
On a personal level, the newly introduced Netflix-Style book recommendations take what’s already on your Goodreads bookshelf, i.e. what’s on your read or to-be-read list, and offers personal recommendations through a new algorithm brought in earlier this year. So you’ll never be without a new book to read and a community to share your reading experiences with.
