Developments with the internet and World Wide Web have introduced many strengths and weaknesses to the publishing industry. The advancement in digital content, distribution and social media has allowed publishers to reach a wider demographic and market products both instantly and internationally.
The importance of publishers establishing themselves within an online community has proven a crucial tool for sales and marketing. Well established big brand publishers such as Random Penguin and Harper Collins have found themselves using these platforms to advertise themselves and their new products, enabling them to create some sort of media ‘Hype’ surrounding their products and events. Social media offers a significant industry change and is now referred to as an ‘essential business tool’ (Getuptospeed, 2014), it seems publishers are agreeing with this. The publishing giant of Penguin Random House utilizes itself on a range of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to help promote authors, book launches and upcoming title releases. The prolific social media site Facebook has recently passed a staggering ‘1.23 billion monthly active users’ (Protalinski, 2014) around the world and for publishers this can be seen as a huge target demographic with online communities spread globally that can be targeted for both print and ebook sales.
Figure 1: screenshot from Penguin Random House Facebook page (24.11.2014)
This screenshot shows the Penguin Random House Facebook page, the page itself has around 187 Thousand likes which allows its posts to be accessed and viewed by a huge range of users globally. As well as the publishing houses being able to connect directly with its consumers through this platform it has been highlighted in an article in Publishers weekly that this, ‘social space […]allow authors to interact with thousands of readers quickly and easily’ (Byle, 2012). Again enforcing this idea of book selling and publishing being immersed within these online communities. The executive director of marketing at Abingdon Press explains that “We now look at a social media strategy for every publishing division and every author.” (Byle, 2012). Publishing houses are considering the implications of social media pages and the impact this can leave on consumers.
Twitter has allowed Publishers to encourage their authors to self-promote, marketing the book to another collection of fans and consumers and saving money on potentially expensive marketing campaigns.
A successful example of Authors and publishers using social media was Dan Brown with Inferno in 2013. Disclosing the cover of his novel through a digital mosaic puzzle. Social media users were encouraged post their excitement in the lead up to the launch and in doing so ‘[...] their profile image will instantly claim a tile in the mosaic, and it is through the aggregation of thousands of reader tiles that the title will be revealed. Readers will be able to find their profile images by zooming into the mosaic canvas.’ (Danbrown.com, 2013).
This example was a clever and innovative risk that both the author and publisher undertook in the lead up to publishing, it allowed fans to become immersed in the publishing process and I believe highlights the way publishers should aim to engage and interact with their target consumer market through the power of social media platforms in this new and digital age.
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References
Bennett, S. (2014). Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat – Social Media Stats 2014 [INFOGRAPHIC] - AllTwitter. [Online] Mediabistro.com. Available at: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-statistics-2014_b57746 [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Brynley-Jones, L. (2014). 10 Useful Social Networking Usage Statistics and Insights for 2014 | Our Social Times - Social Media Agency, Social Media Training. [Online] Oursocialtimes.com. Available at: http://oursocialtimes.com/10-useful-social-networking-statistics-for-2014/ [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Byle, A. (2012). Building Buzz with Social Media. [Online] PublishersWeekly.com. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/religion/article/50571-building-buzz-with-social-media.html [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
Danbrown.com, (2013). Dan Brown » Mosaic. [Online] Available at: http://www.danbrown.com/hashtagart.php [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
Getuptospeed.biz, (2014). The social web: why you need a social media presence | Get Up to Speed with Online Marketing. [Online] Available at: http://www.getuptospeed.biz/2013/12/the-social-web/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
Hall, F. (2013). The business of digital publishing. London: Routledge.
McCartney, J. (2014). Social Media 101 for DIY Authors. [Online] PublishersWeekly.com. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/61524-social-media-101-for-diy-authors.html [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Protalinski, E. (2014). Facebook Passes 1.23 Billion Monthly Active Users. [Online] The Next Web. Available at: http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2014/01/29/facebook-passes-1-23-billion-monthly-active-users-945-million-mobile-users-757-million-daily-users/ [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
The importance of publishers establishing themselves within an online community has proven a crucial tool for sales and marketing. Well established big brand publishers such as Random Penguin and Harper Collins have found themselves using these platforms to advertise themselves and their new products, enabling them to create some sort of media ‘Hype’ surrounding their products and events. Social media offers a significant industry change and is now referred to as an ‘essential business tool’ (Getuptospeed, 2014), it seems publishers are agreeing with this. The publishing giant of Penguin Random House utilizes itself on a range of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to help promote authors, book launches and upcoming title releases. The prolific social media site Facebook has recently passed a staggering ‘1.23 billion monthly active users’ (Protalinski, 2014) around the world and for publishers this can be seen as a huge target demographic with online communities spread globally that can be targeted for both print and ebook sales.
Figure 1: screenshot from Penguin Random House Facebook page (24.11.2014)
This screenshot shows the Penguin Random House Facebook page, the page itself has around 187 Thousand likes which allows its posts to be accessed and viewed by a huge range of users globally. As well as the publishing houses being able to connect directly with its consumers through this platform it has been highlighted in an article in Publishers weekly that this, ‘social space […]allow authors to interact with thousands of readers quickly and easily’ (Byle, 2012). Again enforcing this idea of book selling and publishing being immersed within these online communities. The executive director of marketing at Abingdon Press explains that “We now look at a social media strategy for every publishing division and every author.” (Byle, 2012). Publishing houses are considering the implications of social media pages and the impact this can leave on consumers.
Twitter has allowed Publishers to encourage their authors to self-promote, marketing the book to another collection of fans and consumers and saving money on potentially expensive marketing campaigns.
A successful example of Authors and publishers using social media was Dan Brown with Inferno in 2013. Disclosing the cover of his novel through a digital mosaic puzzle. Social media users were encouraged post their excitement in the lead up to the launch and in doing so ‘[...] their profile image will instantly claim a tile in the mosaic, and it is through the aggregation of thousands of reader tiles that the title will be revealed. Readers will be able to find their profile images by zooming into the mosaic canvas.’ (Danbrown.com, 2013).
This example was a clever and innovative risk that both the author and publisher undertook in the lead up to publishing, it allowed fans to become immersed in the publishing process and I believe highlights the way publishers should aim to engage and interact with their target consumer market through the power of social media platforms in this new and digital age.
-----553 Words----
References
Bennett, S. (2014). Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat – Social Media Stats 2014 [INFOGRAPHIC] - AllTwitter. [Online] Mediabistro.com. Available at: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-statistics-2014_b57746 [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Brynley-Jones, L. (2014). 10 Useful Social Networking Usage Statistics and Insights for 2014 | Our Social Times - Social Media Agency, Social Media Training. [Online] Oursocialtimes.com. Available at: http://oursocialtimes.com/10-useful-social-networking-statistics-for-2014/ [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Byle, A. (2012). Building Buzz with Social Media. [Online] PublishersWeekly.com. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/religion/article/50571-building-buzz-with-social-media.html [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
Danbrown.com, (2013). Dan Brown » Mosaic. [Online] Available at: http://www.danbrown.com/hashtagart.php [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
Getuptospeed.biz, (2014). The social web: why you need a social media presence | Get Up to Speed with Online Marketing. [Online] Available at: http://www.getuptospeed.biz/2013/12/the-social-web/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014].
Hall, F. (2013). The business of digital publishing. London: Routledge.
McCartney, J. (2014). Social Media 101 for DIY Authors. [Online] PublishersWeekly.com. Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/61524-social-media-101-for-diy-authors.html [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Protalinski, E. (2014). Facebook Passes 1.23 Billion Monthly Active Users. [Online] The Next Web. Available at: http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2014/01/29/facebook-passes-1-23-billion-monthly-active-users-945-million-mobile-users-757-million-daily-users/ [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].