This session discussed the new roled of book marketing in the context of the prevalence of social media. Probably the much anticipated of all sessions, it was perhaps the most involved of all panel discussions on the first day of Publishing Next.
Preeti Vyas, a big believer in social media platform, chaired the session and stressed on a one-on-one connection with the audience targeted by the book marketer. Echoing that sentiment, Maegan Chadwick Dobson of Tara books,Chennai stated that social networking is about “finding your personality and that of your company” and portraying that personality accurately constituted a good marketing strategy.
More than just a marketing strategy, Social media should be used to develop a connect with your audience even before you start penning your book. Kiruba Shankar stated that it was more enjoyable to author a book when you collaborate with people online, an activity he said he himself followed and contributed to the marketing of the book.
During the session, blogs, Twitter and Facebook were established as effective platforms for book marketing. Lipika Bhushan, Marketing Manager at HarperCollins India and Nikhil Pahwa, founder of medianama.com shared their views and experiences in this regard. Nikhil stated that since the time gap between a consumers impulse andpurchase has reduced, demands need to be met more efficiency.