As authors, we are always looking for new ways to promote our releases, and to keep the excitement going until our next release. Social media is often a key player in promoting our work but many of us haven’t yet cracked the Facebook or Instagram algorithms, or maybe haven’t dipped our toes into YouTube or TikTok just yet. When it comes to Facebook and Instagram, the algorithm heavily prefers video content, with Instagram preferring users to use all features of the platform to guarantee maximum exposure (this includes Reels, Stories and feed posts). You can read more about how Instagram prefers video content HERE.

Image posts, such as book covers, snippets, and excerpts often perform well. Gaining more traction than standard posts (and being required for Instagram!), image posts are vital to boosting your organic engagement, and gaining new followers. But, there is a better way to boost your numbers, and it needn’t cost a dime. Video posts, including short clips and cinematics, perform especially well on social media with 96% of consumers in 2020 claiming they’d like to see more video content from brands (source: Hubspot).

Short clips can easily be created at home, using software such as DaVinci Resolve (free) or Premiere Pro (paid). By combining video assets (you can find free to use video assets on websites such as Pexels) and text, you can make striking teasers that look professionally made. Tutorials are aplenty on the Internet, too – so don’t be afraid to test the waters with new software.

If you’re looking to make something more meaningful to add an extra angle to your marketing, book trailers are also performing well across the web. This longer-form video content can provide a fresh new look at your book, and many companies offer trailers as a service, including WritersWeekly, which is owned by BookLocker (you can take a look at their work and/or order a book trailer RIGHT HERE). Trailers and teaser posts can be used on YouTube, TikTok, and all other social media outlets to gain a wider audience – and help keep the marketing buzz going for longer.

A simple and effective way to broaden your audience is via TikTok (lovingly known as BookTok by authors who promote in the TikTok space). TikTok allows you to post short video content of anything! You can use this space to post readings, trailer teasers, and more to a primarily young and new adult userbase. YouTube has a slightly older demographic, and allows you to post short videos (known as YouTube Shorts) – you can recycle content from one platform to the other, and even reuse your short-form video content on Instagram Reels. More than 56% of consumers use multiple social media platforms (source: Small Biz Trends); ensuring your future readers are exposed to your book multiple times makes it far more likely that they will buy your book (and hopefully tell their friends!).

Looking for more creative and outside-the-box ideas to promote your novel? There are many ways that you can take video marketing and add your own spin to it! If you’re great in front of a camera, there are live-streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube where you can launch your trailer, do readings, and then reuse the content on other platforms to maximize impact. If you’re looking to really make an impact with your marketing, think creatively, and tap into the large sphere of hungry consumers around the web!

Whichever platform or method you decide to start with for video marketing, you’ll be able to start cracking the Instagram and Facebook algorithms (which heavily prefer video content so your work will be shown to more people) and see an improvement in your organic reach and exposure. Which methods of video marketing appeal to you the most? Have you started your journey with video marketing yet? We’d love to hear about your experience in the comments box below!

Kristy-Leigh Avery is a content creator, author and designer from the UK. Since 2016, she’s been on the hunt for new ways to promote content across social media, and has worked hard to unlock the secrets of high exposure and organic reach on social media. As a writer, she’s fascinated with finding the best ways to promote your work online whilst keeping a low ad budget. A huge fan of Romance, fantasy and horror, Kristy-Leigh can usually be found researching for her novels, binging classic horror flicks, or dressing up as her favorite characters from video games and TV shows.