Writing Books Vs Social Media Promotions

Are you facing a dilemma of Writing a Book or Promoting your brand / you as a brand over social media?

If you are a Business owner, consultant, coach, trainer, subject-matter expert, start-up company, entrepreneur, SME, an individual, or even a corporation looking to write a book as a branding strategy / sales hook and wondering if the investment is actually worth it, here is a basic clarity to decide further.

Writing books is not just a tick accomplished on your bucket list today. It is seen as a strategy to reach your target audience and make them aware-

Hey look, this is me.

This is what I do.

This is my expertise. And I can help you in these situations.

You might say, Today Social Media can also be used to accomplish this task, then, why do I write a book?

Writing a Book means -

Authority: Any day, a book speaks volumes about the author and his/her expertise in the field.

Credibility: It helps create your professional credibility and can enhance your reputation in the domain of your expertise.

Depth: Books allow an in-depth exploration of topics, providing comprehensive insights and value and relevant case studies.

Tangible Product: Books are a tangible resource that can be held, shared, sold and promoted.

Legacy: A book can capture the happenings of an era and it undoubtedly creates a long-term and lasting impact on your professional legacy which goes on for centuries.

Time factor: Requires a one-time engagement to write and publish.

Cost: Involves costs for writing, publishing, and marketing.

Reach: Initially, it may have a limited audience compared to social media, but in some cases, it can also bring you the Bestseller status shortly.

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Social Media

The ever-evolving social media is a ride that serves as a promotion strategy for many if practically planned and implemented. It's a continuous engagement and therefore resource intensive.

Social Media means-

Immediate Reach: Instantly connects with a wide audience.

Engagement: Enables real-time interaction and faster reach with your audience, fostering community and relationships.

Versatility: Makes use of various types of content (text, images, videos).

Cost: It's an ongoing cost. It’s directly proportional to as much as one would like to enhance their reach.

Viral Potential: Content can go viral, rapidly increasing your visibility, but short-lived.

Time-factor: Requires consistent, almost daily content creation and engagement and regular posting for desired results.

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The Demarcaters

I feel the seminal point here is - Social media might have a bigger and faster reach, but the content is short-lived. The content is created as per the need of the hour and not as a solution but as a way to the solution. Seldom there are archives that are maintained and can be visited. But, once a site is down or obsolete, your precious data is lost.

Books at the same time are forever and need minimal engagement and comparatively lesser investment.

Social Media can prove you as an authority as an Influencer, which is again short-lived.

Books are an ongoing authority across generations.

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Creating brand presence on Social Media is a costlier option as compared to creating a book, as the former is an ongoing service that requires constant involvement and that means it is cost and resource intensive.

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Although both social media and books are used as business strategies, Social Media is rather a platform, and Books are products. Books can also be promoted through Social Media.

Both strategies could be used for reaching your target audience, albeit when you are thinking of a long-term audience engagement, writing a Book is the winning choice.