In January I'll be serving as a panelist at Digital Book World's conference in NYC. The conference itself has mounted a substantial social media campaign to drum up interest and get attendees excited. As part of that campaign—and as a preview of the panel I'll be on, they asked me to write up a list of concrete steps to beginning a social media strategy. I was honored to have been asked, and happy to do it, of course.

Today they've posted that article on the conference blog. Below is an excerpt—but I'll only give you one of the five steps here. For the rest, please read the article—and learn more about the conference—on the Digital Book World web site.

Here is an excerpt:

The rise of social media presents new and powerful opportunities to book publishers. The millions of discussions taking place on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and across the blogosphere all thrive on the new content. Like in the real-world, the most popular discussions online are based on content that is original, edited, and expert—exactly the content that book publishers produce every day.

If done correctly, a publisher diving into the social media world will find:

• a vibrant community of readers
• a valuable word-of-mouth network
• numerous market research opportunities
• access to new media outlets for promotion
• new audiences for books and authors

A strong social media presence takes time and a sustained effort to build. In light of this commitment, it is important that book publishers begin with a clear strategy that has proven results.

Here is a quick list of five steps publishers will need to take to launch a social media strategy:

Step One: Define Your Niche

It is important that you have a clear idea of your niche before you jump into social media. If you publish books spanning several niches, you should consider setting up a social media campaign for each niche in which you publish. For example, if you are a publisher of a wide range of political books, you know all too well already that your conservative audience does not want to learn about your progressive books, and vice versa. Likewise, if you are a cookbook publisher, your cocktail books likely won’t fly too well with your barbecue audience.

Drill down your efforts to a specific audience. Set up your strategies accordingly.

Step Two: Plan Your Content

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For the other four steps, please find the article here. Also, follow Digital Book World on Twitter at @digibookworld.