Let’s be social!

Social media networks have become a major resource for both small and big businesses for promoting their brands. Easy to use, some of these networks even have paid advertising options to reach new or target audiences. But, it is not important to be present on all such social media sites as too much presence also becomes annoying. So, it is important to pick up the social media networks which work best for you and you need to customise your presence on each of them.

It is a great medium to promote books, inform about new releases, launch events, etc. Develop curiosity and talk to your readers, interact with them, engage them and associate with them. Sometimes, publishers even upload alternatives for book covers and ask for opinions, making readers a part of the book even before it hit the bookshelves. That’s the kind of engagement that is required. Though, it may or may not lead to sales, it will indeed make a mark in the mind of the readers and brand recall is very important in this digital age, where everything is available at the click of the mouse.

Another important aspect is to monitor and measure the response and change/adapt accordingly as things change very fast these days. In this issue, we bring you views and opinions of people who have excelled at the art of social media marketing.

While, the industry is still reeling under the pressure of new GST norms, the confusion regarding NCERT books made mandatory for CBSE schools still prevails. The silver lining is that schools and teachers do appreciate and support the quality books offered by private education publishers. When the question is about the future of our children, should we compromise on quality?

Despite all odds, the industry continues to offer the treasure trove of books, which are at par with international standards. The recent news of Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness has made it to the longlist of this year’s Man Booker Prize. Kudos to Indian authors and publishers for putting India on international radar!

Happy publishing!

Sonal Khurana
sonal@smediagroup.in